Cemetery on bullet train’s route near Bharuch, Waqf tribunal approached

AHMEDABAD: Trustees of a cemetery near Bharuch have approached the Gujarat State Waqf Tribunal objecting to the bid to acquire the graveyard's land to lay down pillars for the elevated Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train.
The cemetery is in Tham village, 5 km from Bharuch, which received a notice in 2018 from the land acquisition authority for the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) stating that a part of the graveyard would be required for the ambitious project.
The committee got the cemetery registered as a waqf property in August 2018.
The committee, which manages the graveyard, discussed the issue with the authorities. The committee was told that the part of the cemetery to be acquired did not have a grave. The trustees agreed to part with the land for the bullet train project.
“But later, we came to know that the land parcel to be acquired was a different one and 125 graves situated on it. A shrine is also located on this part of the land. We decided to oppose the acquisition,” said Salim Chand, one of the trustees.
The tribunal is schedule to hear the issue next week, sources said.
The committee got the cemetery registered as a waqf property in August 2018. The trustees made representations to the concerned authorities to change the alignment so that the part of the cemetery could be saved. When they did not get any response, they filed an application in the Waqf Tribunal.
Trustees claim violation of Waqf Act
The trustees made representations to the concerned authorities to change the alignment so that the part of the cemetery could be saved.
When they did not get any response, they filed an application in the Waqf Tribunal.
They submitted that there was a clear violation of sections 51 and 91 of the Waqf Act that any part of the Waqf property cannot be alienated and if the land is to be acquired, the district collector should first serve the notice to the state Waqf board. The tribunal issued notices last year but the Covid-19 lockdown delayed the proceedings.
In their application before the tribunal, the trustees have claimed that the procedure followed by the authorities for acquisition was not proper and the land of the graveyard cannot be alienated for any other purpose. The tribunal is schedule to hear the issue next week, sources said.