New Delhi: The Delhi Minorities Commission has issued a restraining order on the forest department after residents of Sangam Vihar in south Delhi claimed they are being charged Rs 10 to enter a graveyard inside the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.
While forest officials did not comment on the issue, a source said the entry fee had been imposed in September last year to regulate the movement of people in the sanctuary and minimise disturbance to wildlife.
"The entry fee is for the sanctuary and not the graveyard," the source said.
The graveyard is located near the wildlife sanctuary's boundary with Sangam Vihar, which is the largest unauthorised colony in Asia.
According to Dula Khan, the general secretary of the Sangam Vihar Qabristan Committee, the graveyard measures around five hectares and is more than 35 years old.
Authorities in the past had allowed people to visit it, despite it being on forest land, he said.
"This is the first time that people from Sangam Vihar and nearby areas are being asked to pay Rs 10 to enter the graveyard," he claimed.
The minorities commission, in its order to the forest department, said a complaint has been filed by the Sangam Vihar Qabristan Committee.
"For more than six months, Rs 10 per person is being charged as sanctuary entrance permit by the Department of Forest and Wildlife even from the people who are visiting the graveyard for burial and last rites purposes," the order quoted the complainant as saying.
According to the deputy conservator of forest concerned, an entry fee of Rs 10 is being charged as per the provisions of the Delhi Wildlife Protection Rules, 1973, the panel said. "As per the notification (Delhi Wildlife Protection Rules), a fee can be charged only for tourism and transaction of lawful business with any person residing in the sanctuary," it said.