Now, rules, registration fee for private burial grounds in Chennai

CHENNAI: The GCC has set up rules for private burial grounds registration, and registration fee with renewal costs, a resolution passed on Friday.

A committee was formed to frame rules for burial grounds that have been outsourced, of which there should be no residential structures and waterbodies accessible to the public within a 30-metre radius from the burial site.

The location, in the case of ownership being requested, must either belong to the applicant or have a legally registered permission (registered deed) from the landowner to use as a burial ground. The land must be designated as a burial ground in the Revenue department records, or the applicant must obtain a No Objection Certificate from the district collector to use it as a burial ground.

The location must not be entirely within a primary residential zone or a mixed residential zone that includes commercial establishments. The access road must be at least 30 feet wide, with an area of at least 0.5 acres. The compound wall should be at least 6 feet high, and the ground should be functional from 6 am to 6 pm; no cremation should take place after 6 pm.

Applicants requesting ownership of a burial ground must pay Rs 500 for one-cent of land as the ownership fee. Ownership must be renewed for Rs 100 for each cent of land, once every three years. If there is already ownership for the existing ground, ownership fee for the expansion area will be Rs 500/cent for 3 years.

VCK councillor K Ambeth Valavan (alias) Kumarasamy of Ward 73 said: “If this is implemented, private burial grounds will differentiate cremation or burying dead bodies based on the identities. That’s why only the Corporation should maintain the burial grounds in the city.”