Mathura Graveyard Committee Questions Rs 100 Per Grave Compensation for Damage

MATHURA: The committee managing Kabristan Ahle Muslimeen in Mathura’s Manoharpura area has questioned the administration’s assessment of Rs 100 per damaged grave after a JCB attached to Mathura-Vrindavan Nagar Nigam allegedly entered the waqf graveyard in April and damaged nine graves, calling the compensation “shocking” and an “insult to the dead”.

The incident took place on the night of April 26, when the JCB allegedly entered the 117-year-old graveyard from its northern side while working near a govt water tank on the western side of the premises. The machine, belonged to Nature Green Tools and Machines Private Limited and is attached to the Nagar Nigam.

Shakir Hussain, secretary of the graveyard committee, said the official response was beyond belief. “The administration gave Rs 100 per grave, Rs 100 per tree and Rs 100 per concrete pillar,” Hussain told TOI on Thursday, sitting under a neem tree inside the graveyard. “The administration’s response has added insult to injury. Families saw graves crushed, burial shrouds come out of the earth and skeletal remains become visible. Yet the official valuation was just Rs 100 per grave. Is this what the dignity of the dead is worth in govt records?” he asked.

Additional municipal commissioner Saurabh Singh told TOI that Nagar Nigam acted as per the assessment report prepared by the department concerned. He said the compensation was calculated according to existing norms and directions issued by officials at the time, adding that the civic body “does not support any damage to religious or burial sites and necessary instructions have been issued to contractors to exercise caution during govt works”.

Taj Uddin, a local resident, alleged that the incident had to be viewed with the pressure being felt around waqf land. “This is not compensation; it is insensitivity. Those responsible for the devastation remain unaccountable, while grieving families are expected to accept a sum like this,” he said.

Documents accessed by TOI showed that two complaints were filed by Jamaluddin Khan, 89, president of the graveyard committee for nearly three decades. He said the graveyard was a gazetted waqf notified property recorded as Waqf No. 74 and Waqf No. 858 in Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board documents. “I have looked after this graveyard for decades, and apathy has increased over the years,” Jamaluddin said.

After the April 26 incident, Jamaluddin filed a complaint on the IGRS portal of UP govt. The grievance was initially closed after Nagar Nigam’s response, but was taken up again after poor feedback was submitted.

TOI accessed two letters issued by nagar swasthya adhikari Ramgopal Singh, directing the private company to pay cheques of Rs 2,600 and Rs 900 to the graveyard, with a warning to avoid such incidents in future.

Sharif Khan, caretaker of the graveyard, said three of the nine graves were badly damaged and had to be repaired with soil filling and slabs. A TOI visit to the site found the perimeter wall broken and solid waste dumped by municipal vehicles near the gate.

The issue has gained fresh momentum after an online signature campaign submitted a petition to the district magistrate, municipal commissioner, senior superintendent of police and waqf authorities, seeking reopening of the IGRS complaint.

The petition alleged that the grievance was closed on the basis of an incomplete or misleading report and demanded an independent inquiry.