MUMBAI, Feb. 22 -- The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the state government, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) and the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) to take possession of land reserved for Muslim and Christian burial grounds in their sanctioned Development Plans and complete their development within two years. A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam held that once land is earmarked and included in a Development Plan, it is the joint responsibility of the state and the civic body to allocate the plot, carry the work forward and complete it in a time-bound manner. Disposing of two PILs-one on Christian burial grounds in Thane and the other on a 'daphanbhumi' (graveyard) in Mira-Bhayander, the court directed that possession be handed over "as expeditiously as possible". If the reserved plots are unavailable due to CRZ restrictions or statutory clearances, authorities must earmark suitable alternative land nearby Observing that adequate burial space is a community necessity, the court permitted re-organisation of reservations if public interest so demands....