Team Herald
MARGAO: The Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) has set aside the Margao Municipal Council’s (MMC) move of the withdrawal of a previous order which made arrangements for a common burial ground for people professing no faith.
The DMA has directed the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to give effect to its council decision to make the necessary arrangement of some portion of the existing burial/cremation grounds for persons professing no/any faith or arrange for a separate common burial ground. The case was argued before the director by Adv late Satish Sonak. The directorate has also ordered restoration of the previously withdrawn resolution and order of the MMC in this respect.
The MMC after issuing the order of reserving burial land for persons of any/no faith had faced flak from the parishioners of St Sebastian Church of Aquem. The parishioners had called the order bizarre and after much opposition the order was withdrawn. This decision was challenged before the directorate and immediately it ruled to suspend the decision of the civic body.
The order of the directorate also pulled up the MMC for having made submission of working out plans to provide land for compliance of order but had no physical plans on record. The director’s order says “The order dated October 3, 2016, issued by the (MMC) withdrawing the earlier orders dated August 16, 2016, and September 16, 2016, giving effect to the decision taken by the council amounts to nullifying the decision taken by the council without the same being discussed by the council. Considering the above and also taking into account the responsibility cast upon the Council for providing suitable facilities for disposal of dead bodies irrespective of the religion or faith followed by them, the order dated October 3, 2016, issued by the (MMC) herein is set aside and the (MMC) is directed to give effect to the order dated September 16, 2016 and dated September 16, 2016 giving effect to the decision taken by the Council,”.
What was being called a difficult order to service due to the perplexed religious angles involved in the matter has now come back to haunt the MMC and it will be interesting to see how the A Class civic body handles the issue.
