Shashwati Chowdhury
Published on: June 5, 2022 at 17:14 IST
Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TNCCI) has resumed work on the hi-tech electric gasifier crematorium near Press Colony in Madurai after the Madras High Court cleared the way for its construction.
According to N Jegatheesan, president of TNCCI, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the construction of the crematorium was signed by TNCCI and the Madurai corporation in July 2021.
However, once petitions were filed before the HC challenging it, work was halted. He said that various locations in cities like Coimbatore and Chennai have gasifiers. There are just three gasifiers in Madurai, two of which are in Thathaneri and one in Keerathurai. The Othakadai, K Pudur, K K Nagar and Anna Nagar people will greatly benefit from the one currently under construction.
According to him, the gasifier, which is being built at a cost of crore, will have facilities like a hall for performing last rites for the deceased, a meeting room for condolences, a visitors’ hall, adequate water, modern toilets, a place to receive ashes, beautiful green landscaping, room for two and four-wheeler parking, as well as a cemetery registry room and watchman shed. He stated that the project would be completed in four months.
In 2021, two petitions were brought before the high court’s Madurai Bench, seeking a direction to the authorities not to build the gasifier on land known as Pudhukulam Kanmoi, which is classified as a waterbody.
The construction of a gasifier crematorium in the existing burial ground will not prejudice anyone, according to a Division Bench of Justices PN Prakash and R Hemalatha, especially in light of the subsequently mushroomed colonies in the residential area.
People knew that a cremation and burial grounds were close by when they bought the land in the area.
The court stated, “We cannot lose sight of the fact that crematoriums and burial grounds cannot be located very far away as that would lead to a lot of inconvenience to the public,” the court said. Since the public have been demanding a gasifier crematorium in that place, the court said its installation should not be stalled further.