Plea in top court seeks 3-tier panel to ensure dignified disposal of bodies

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Centre and other authorities to form a committee to ensure dignified disposal of bodies of COVID-19 victims while referring to recent reports of floating corpses in the river Ganga in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The plea has sought directions for constituting a three-tier committee at the central, state and panchayat, and the rural and municipality levels to look after the disposal of the bodies. Petitioner Vineet Jindal has claimed in his plea that disposal of bodies of COVID-19 victims in rivers could have a devastating effect on the drinking water supply of people residing in cities and villages situated on the river banks, and there is an apprehension of transmission of diseases as well.

“It is respectfully submitted that the dead bodies of COVID-19 affected persons are being buried on the banks of rivers. Sand covering the bodies is blown away by strong winds, exposing the decomposing bodies,” said the plea filed through advocate Raj Kishor Choudhary.

The petition has arrayed the Centre, the National Mission for Clean Ganga, the governments of UP and Bihar and the pollution control boards of these two states as respondents. It has sought a direction to the authorities to remove all such bodies and restore the ecology of the riverbeds. The plea has also sought to declare the Ganga riverbed an ecologically sensitive area and hence, be protected and preserved. The plea said necessary safety equipment should be provided to staff at burial grounds so that they can perform duties efficiently and without fear or risk.