Court of Auditors finds exposed bones and open tombs in cemeteries in SP

The Court of Auditors of the Municipality of São Paulo (TCM-SP) encountered a series of problems when carrying out an inspection in the municipal cemeteries of the capital of São Paulo in recent days.

Auditors from the agency observed everything from horses grazing among the tombs to exposed and unidentified bones. A balance sheet was released this week.

The 22 public cemeteries in São Paulo, in addition to a crematorium, were granted to the private sector in March of this year. After a transition period, the four winning consortia fully assumed the services, even providing for the use of limousines in processions. Dealerships claim that some of the problems are old and that they are working on improvements.

After the management changes, the value of the social funeral was fixed at R$ 566.04, a 25% reduction compared to before the concession. Gratuities were maintained for specific groups, such as those who earn less than half the minimum wage or those who registered in the Homeless Citizens’ Assistance System in the last year. The concessions will have a term of 25 years.

With the objective of supervising the services and maintenance of the cemeteries, TCM auditors visited the 22 cemeteries between Tuesday (13) and Wednesday (14). According to a preliminary balance released by the agency, the “Ordered Operation of Cemeteries” has already identified “a series of needs for improving services”.

Among the problems found, the court highlights the lack of security, broken or vandalized walls and tombs, failures in the maintenance of bathrooms and accessibility problems, as well as accumulation of garbage, unidentified bones and lack of visibility for information about the services available and the gratuities.

“A complete report with the general assessment of cemeteries and concessionaires will be finalized later this week, taking stock of the service conditions three months after the concession to the private initiative”, said the agency.

Problems reported by TCM-SP in some of the cemeteries visited

• Itaquera Cemetery : good cleaning conditions, security problems (rails were stolen and protections are insufficient), cemetery used as a passageway for motorcycles, pedestrians and even horses, bones without identification;
• San Pedro Cemetery: problems in the maintenance of bathrooms, caves that gave way, roads without accessibility, pedestrian passage inside the cemetery, good cleaning and painting conditions, good circulation between the cemetery and the crematorium of Vila Alpina, information on all types of burial and easily available prices to the public;
• Santo Amaro Cemetery: security problems (lack of cameras and electric fence), violated tombs, disorganized bones with poor identification, exposed bones in open tombs;
• Vila Formosa Cemetery: deficiencies in the accessibility and structure of the bathrooms, many bones piled up in bags and without identification, a sign that informs about gratuities smaller than the standard size defined in the notice, walls without cameras or electric fences;
• Saint Louis Cemetery: unidentified bones, low wall without cameras or electric fence, small security team and outdated security structures, good conservation of the green area, weekly cleaning efforts.

What dealerships say

In a note, Velar SP (Consórcio Monte Santo), which manages the Itaquera, São Pedro and São Luiz cemeteries, stated that it has not yet received the official report of the inspection carried out by the TCM and that as soon as it becomes aware of its content, it will respond to the questions.

“The security teams were reinforced and the cemeteries of Itaquera and São Luiz have a motorized security patrol service. The bathrooms have undergone constant maintenance services, with pieces of china and metal being replaced as soon as there is any damage”, he said.

The concessionaire stated that it is still unable to carry out maintenance on the family tombs, since they are given over to private use. “As an emergency, these areas were isolated. Velar SP is carrying out a survey of all the tombs in conditions of abandonment in order to contact the families”, he said.

“As for the unidentified bones, Velar SP informs that, after the beginning of its operations in the city of São Paulo, on March 7, all exhumations carried out in its cemeteries have the bones duly identified. Regarding the skeletons prior to the concession, the concessionaires have until 2024 to prepare a report containing a survey of the current situation and a work plan to carry out the regularization.”

At the head of the Santo Amaro Cemetery, Cortel SP stated that, since it took over the management of the cemetery three months ago, it has carried out improvements, following the deadlines established in the concession contract.

“The company reiterates that it has invested in strengthening security and permanent janitorial actions in the common areas of the cemeteries”. The renovations in the common areas of the Santo Amaro Cemetery are scheduled to start in August.

“The group points out that the violation of the tombs is a situation prior to the concession process, and that it has already communicated the problem to the City Hall, via SP Regula. Cortel SP also points out that each deposit has private owners”. The consortium also informed that it has sought the owners of each unit, aiming to assist in the process of restoration and conservation of these units.

Consolare, the managing concessionaire of the Vila Formosa cemetery, said it operates in accordance with the rules for providing services and prices stipulated by the City of São Paulo. The consortium claimed to have started a project to renovate the existing facilities.

“The necessary maintenance, adaptation, infrastructure and security works will be carried out within the deadline set in the public notice, until March 2027”.

Grupo Maya (Consórcio Cemitérios e Crematorios SP), which did not have cemeteries mentioned in the partial balance sheet of the Municipal Court of Auditors, was also approached, but did not manifest itself until the conclusion of this report.

The concession of the cemeteries was marked by controversy even before the management changes. The public notice was suspended five times by the TCM. There were also criticisms from Procon, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) and even the Public Ministry, which filed a direct action of unconstitutionality during the preparation of the notice. The auction took place in August last year.

In a note, the City of São Paulo stated that, through SP Regula and the Municipal Funeral Service (SFMSP), it remains available to resolve any doubts with the Municipal Court of Auditors.

“The management will provide all the necessary clarifications to the body, as soon as it is notified about the diagnosis of the inspections”, said the municipal management.