Mumbai: The Sunni Muslim community will soon have a dedicated cemetery extending from Bandra West to Khar West after the Bombay High Court was informed on Tuesday that two land parcels had been handed over to the BMC for it.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) also assured the court that a third conjoined land parcel would be transferred within four weeks.
About The Case
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice MS Karnik was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mohammed Furqan Qureshi, which sought the allocation of land for the burial ground. The PIL also sought a direction to the respondents to provide other necessary facilities and amenities as required for the management and effective functioning of the cemetery.
Qureshi’s PIL pointed out that the Urban Development Department had, in a notification dated September 29, 2022, earmarked a plot. He argued that Sunni Muslims in Bandra and Khar, estimated at 1.72 lakh, lacked adequate burial space. Initially, BMC had stated that it would allocate 3,000 sq mt each for Hindu, Muslim, and Christian cemeteries. In February 2024, the High Court had expressed its frustration over the Maharashtra government’s delay, calling it “incomprehensible” that the land had not yet been handed over.
Following an interim court order, a joint inspection was conducted by BMC and MSRDC, and a report was prepared in July 2024, confirming that the total area earmarked across three land parcels was 8,627.77 sq mt. MSRDC counsel Milind Sathe said that land parcels 1 and 2, which were temporarily occupied by labour accommodations for the metro project, have now been handed over to the BMC.
He assured the court that possession of land parcel 1 shall be handed over within four weeks. Confirming the handing over of plots, BMC counsel Anil Sakhare submitted that the civic body shall “develop the aforesaid lands for the intended purpose, expeditiously”.
