Litigant pleads against Isha crematorium near home, notice issued to State, yoga foundation
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court directed the State and Isha Foundation to file a counter to the petition seeking the removal of an electric crematorium being set up by the Isha Yoga Center at Ikkarai Boluvampatti, Coimbatore.
The petition was listed before a vacation bench of Justice J Sathya Narayana Prasad and Justice V Lakshmi Narayanan.
Petitioner SN Subramanian submitted that the Isha Foundation is constructing a huge electric crematorium in the name of Kalabhairavar Dhagana Mandapam, abutting his house at Ikkarai Boluvampatti. The petitioner submitted that Isha has been dumping all the waste from the yoga centre near his house in a bid to force me to sell the property.
The president of Ikkarai Boluvampatti village panchayat and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s District Environmental Engineer, Coimbatore South passed an order allowing Isha to construct the crematorium without conducting a public hearing, contended the petitioner.
The litigant further argued that the place where the crematorium is being set up is eco-sensitive as it lies close to the Ikkarai Boluvampatti elephant habitat. “If the crematorium is allowed to function, the elephant herds will get irritated by the foul smell of burning flesh and may become more violent, putting locals at risk,” said the petitioner.
The petitioner submitted that as per Tamil Nadu village panchayats (provision of burial and burning grounds) rules, 1999, no person should bury or burn or cause to be buried or burnt any corpse in any place within 90 meters of a dwelling place and said that the crematorium constructed by the Isha is just 50 meters away from his house.
After hearing the submission, the bench directed the State and Isha Foundation to file a counter and posted the matter to June 12 for further submission.