Govt never released money for Sikh, Hindu crematorium, court told

District administration says they have identified the site to build the facility

PESHAWAR: The government has been unable to build a crematorium in Peshawar for members of the substantial Sikh and Hindu communities, simply because money for it was never released.

This was the argument presented by the district administration before a two-judge bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), comprising Justice Qaiser Rashid and Justice Nasir Mehfooz. The court was hearing a petition filed by Sikh elder Babaji Guru Gurpal Singh wherein he demanded that the government be directed to build a crematorium in the city.

The district administration told the court that while they had received a notification from the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, they never received the funds earmarked for the crematorium.



The additional deputy commissioner, who appeared before the court on Thursday, said that they had identified a site to build the facility in the Shahab Khel area of the city.

“We have identified the site for crematorium for Hindus and Sikhs and a graveyard for the Christian community,” the additional deputy commissioner said, adding, “But so far, the process has yet to start.”

He added that it was the responsibility of the Auqaf department to deal with the crematorium and the graveyard and that the finance department was responsible for releasing the funds.

Once the process is initiated, he said the deputy commissioner will impose section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act to acquire the land.

Officials told the court that the entire process could take six months to complete.

Singh, in his petition, had contended that the K-P government has released Rs30 million to build the facility.

Filed through advocate Muhammad Khurshid, the petition had further claimed that the Auqaf department and the commissioner were reluctant to build the crematorium.

Singh had further claimed that the government had released Rs2.67million to purchase an ambulance for the Gurdwara but the Nazim of Town-1 had failed to make the requisite purchases.

However, during Thursday’s hearing, the Nazim rejected the claim, pointing out that the provincial government had failed to release this sum too.

The court has directed the all the concerned department to work with coordination and ensure that crematorium is built on time.

“We need a positive report,” the court directed the government officials and adjourned the case until September 12.