Independent MP Rinesh Sharma has called for a formal investigation into the government-funded gas crematorium recently installed at Tuatua Cemetery in Labasa, saying the project may have disregarded both cultural customs and proper oversight of public funds.
Speaking in Parliament, Sharma said the crematorium unit was installed facing west rather than north, a placement he says contravenes Hindu religious customs. He also questioned the overall cost of the project, estimating it to be between $500,000 and $1 million, and urged authorities to scrutinise how the grant was handled. Sharma told MPs he first wrote to the Ministry for Multi‑Ethnic Affairs in August last year about the matter but had received no resolution.
The MP is now formally urging the Ministry, the Permanent Secretary and other relevant authorities to review the Tuatua installation to ensure the facility complies with cultural and religious practices and that public funds were properly used. He framed the request as both a matter of cultural respect for the local Hindu community and of financial accountability for a taxpayer-funded programme.
The call for investigation comes after the Multi‑Ethnic Affairs Ministry announced a national rollout of gas crematoriums aimed at providing more environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional funeral pyres. In earlier coverage, the ministry said the initiative would help cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce demand on mangroves and native trees often used in open pyres, with multiple cemeteries—including Tuatua—named as rollout sites.
Sharma’s intervention brings the rollout back into focus by raising two issues that could complicate implementation: religious or cultural suitability of the new installations and transparency around procurement and expenditure. If the MP’s cost estimate is close to accurate, the sum involved is substantial, and his public request underscores growing expectations that multi‑ethnic and environmental projects also adhere to local cultural protocols.
FBC News has reached out to Multi‑Ethnic Affairs Minister Charan Jeath Singh for comment on Sharma’s allegations and to ask whether the ministry has records of the August correspondence Sharma cited, but no response has been received so far. The ministry has previously defended the national crematorium programme as part of a broader effort to modernise and make end‑of‑life services more sustainable; it is not clear whether those earlier plans included formal consultations on orientation or ritual considerations specific to different faiths.
Sharma’s demand for a review will likely prompt further questions about the extent of community consultation undertaken at Tuatua and whether other crematorium sites in the national rollout were installed with similar oversight. Any official inquiry could examine procurement documents, project budgets and the extent to which cultural and religious stakeholders were engaged prior to installation.
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