The stretch also houses a crematorium for Hindus and cemetery for Muslims

MUMBAI: The Christian community's eight-year-long quest for burial space on the eastern flank of the western suburbs reached a happy conclusion on Wednesday as the authorities at Aarey Dairy in Goregaon (E) handed over a 5,000 sqm plot to the BMC . The civic body will construct a cemetery for the community here. Additional land has been released for a service road to provide access.

Aarey Dairy has reportedly also issued an NOC to the BMC to divert an existing storm water drain away from the land. This matter was a bone of contention and had led to protests.

For years, every Saturday, Christian groups would undertake morchas demanding that a cemetery plot be allotted to them in Goregaon (E) and Kandivli (E). "Finally it has happened," said Sherley Joseph Singh , a representative of the United Christian Community Centre ( UCCC ), which fought and won the battle for the plot. "We have awaited this day since February 18, 2010 when we began our correspondence with various authorities. There is no Christian cemetery from Santacruz (E) to Dahisar (E). We have to travel to the western side. It is not only inconvenient to carry a body there but also expensive. Not all can afford to hire a hearse and ferry mourners by bus."

Also, several Christian families from south Mumbai have moved to the suburbs over the past few decades, underscoring the need for burial space.

"The authorities had assured the Bombay HC in November 2017 that they would allot a plot to the community. Three months later, they did not move a finger. We filed RTI queries which went unanswered. We filed a contempt petition against the principal secretary (urban development), civic chief as well as the CEO of Aarey on March 14. Within days, the ball was set in motion, and on Wednesday, Aarey gave the allotment letter to BMC," said an office-bearer of UCCC.

The trust's lawyer Yeshwanth Shenoy rued how it had taken a contempt petition to get the revenue secretary to act on court's orders. The activists claim that the authorities are urging them to withdraw the contempt petition. "We have said we will do so once we see construction of the cemetery and service road," the spokesman said.

The BMC's health department will now draft a plan and a budgetary allocation will be approved. "If the civic chief wishes, it can be done in 15-30 days," said the UCCC representative.

