Citizens’ group asks to expand electric cremation facilities across Delhi

According to the report titled Citizen Demand Assessment for Electric Cremation in Delhi, an illustrative survey was conducted among 1,376 respondents above the age of 18 who had attended at least one cremation in the past five years.

A citizens’ collective, Warrior Moms, has written to Delhi’s environment minister, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, urging the government to expand electric cremation facilities across the city to curb pollution caused by traditional wood-based cremation practices. The appeal is based on findings from a recent demand assessment survey conducted across Delhi.

The appeal is based on findings from a recent demand assessment survey conducted across Delhi.

According to the report titled Citizen Demand Assessment for Electric Cremation in Delhi, an illustrative survey was conducted among 1,376 respondents above the age of 18 who had attended at least one cremation in the past five years. The respondents were drawn from 43 crematorium catchments across the city.

The findings showed strong public support for electric cremation, with 68% of respondents saying they were likely to opt for electric cremation if facilities were available locally. Of these, 41% said they would “definitely choose” electric cremation, while 27% said they would “probably choose” it. The report also found that 74% supported installing at least one electric cremation unit at every crematorium in Delhi, and 66% favoured linking electric cremation with a tree-saving initiative.

The assessment noted that awareness of electric cremation before the survey stood at 54%. It found that 76% of respondents considered a travel time of up to 30 minutes acceptable to access an electric cremation facility. Demand for electric cremation was observed across all zones of Delhi, even in the absence of large-scale awareness campaigns.

Warrior Moms identified socio-cultural resistance as the primary barrier to adoption. Family or elder opposition was cited by 34% of respondents, followed by preference for traditional rituals at 31%, lack of religious guidance at 26% and lack of awareness at 24%. Other concerns included the condition of facilities at 21%, uncertainty over costs at 18% and power reliability at 12%.

“Socio-cultural factors constitute the dominant barriers to adoption, while informational gaps on environmental benefits can be addressed through targeted outreach,” the report stated.

Respondents also highlighted key enabling factors, including cleaner and more dignified infrastructure at 47%, availability of electric cremation at the same crematorium at 44%, religious endorsement at 39% and environmental messaging related to tree conservation and air quality at 35%. Clear pricing and public awareness campaigns were also flagged as important.

The report linked electric cremation to environmental benefits, stating that each electric cremation saves approximately four to six mature trees compared to traditional methods, which consume 400 to 600 kg of wood per cremation.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi manages 59 cremation grounds, while only about 9% of cremations currently use green methods such as CNG or electric furnaces. Warrior Moms urged the government to install at least one electric cremation unit at every MCD-managed crematorium, with priority given to high-footfall sites.