Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am informed by the Ministry of Local Government that in Constituency No. 13, there are nine cremation grounds which are all traditional pyres located at – • Grand Bois; • Bois Chéri; • Rivière du Poste (Camp Rabaud and Camp Siaje); • Tyack; • Camp Diable; • L’Escalier, and • Benares. There are three incinerators situated at Grand Bois, Souillac, Chamouny which are used mostly by the Hindu faiths and occasionally by Christian faiths. There are three cemeteries which are located at L’Escalier, Camp Diable and Grand Bois. I am also informed that the cemetery at L’Escalier is almost saturated and I thank the hon. Member for this question. And there is no additional land for further extension. The

65 District Council of Savanne is indeed looking for a suitable portion of land to extend the cemetery. In 2022, the Ministry of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management requested the Ministry of Housing and Land Use Planning to confirm the status of two identified plots of land adjacent to the cemetery and to the village market. Both are private properties. Process has started for the acquisition and I can assure my hon. friend that I will be following this matter closely to ensure that the process is completed and we will be working together with my hon. colleague, the Minister of Local Government in order to implement this project. As regards the cemetery at Camp Diable which caters for burial of all religions and faiths, we have received, at the level of my Ministry, no request for additional land. However, if there is the need for same, I can assure the hon. Member and all the colleagues, hon. Members, and the inhabitants of Constituency No. 13 – that happens to be the first Constituency I was elected in – that I will be personally looking into the matter and try to find solutions. With regard to the cemetery found at Grand Bois, there is indeed an urgent need to extend its area. A portion of freehold land found adjacent to the existing cemetery has been identified already, surveyed and consultations are already ongoing to assess the suitability of the land in view of the potential acquisition. And for that process, in March of 2025, views of various Ministries have been sought; the Ministry of Environment, Health, Water Resources Unit, Land Drainage Authority and on 8 April, the Water Resources Unit stated that it had no objection to the proposed extension of the existing cemetery. So, now the planning section in my Ministry is awaiting the views of the Ministry of Environment, Health, and LDA prior to submitting planning views. So, obviously all my colleague Ministers will be looking into it in order to try to expedite matters.

Thank you. The hon. First Member for Piton and Rivière du Rempart! SSRN HOSPITAL – CASUALTY & ADMISSION – AVERAGE WAITING TIME