East Delhi likely to soon get two more CNG crematoriums

A proposal to set up the facilities in Seemapuri and Jwala Nagar, with the help of NGOs, was cleared by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation on Monday

East Delhi may soon get two more crematoriums equipped with CNG furnaces. A proposal to set up the facilities in Seemapuri and Jwala Nagar, with the help of NGOs, was cleared by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) on Monday.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the corporation had set up CNG crematoriums in Ghazipur and Karkardooma Shamshan Bhumi, where two furnaces each are currently operational. (Picture for representation only/Sanjeev Verma-HT)

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the corporation had set up CNG crematoriums in Ghazipur and Karkardooma Shamshan Bhumi, where two furnaces each are currently operational. The pandemic — especially the second wave when 13,210 people died of Covid-19 in the months of April and May, as per government records— had brought to the fore the glaring need for additional crematoriums.

A senior EDMC official from the public health department said the CNG units will provide eco-friendly, economical and faster cremation options.

The house also cleared several other policy proposals on Monday including the project of allowing milk booths/kiosks in municipal parks in lieu of handing over the maintenance of select parks, EDMC spokesperson Rakesh Gupta said.

The corporation also cleared the proposal to appoint an agency for carrying out bio-mining of 50 lakh tonnes of legacy waste accumulated in Ghazipur landfill site. The agency, which will be selected after inviting open bids, will also be responsible for disposal of excavated material, reclamation of land and development of new engineered landfill facility at the same site. Gupta said a period of 27 months has been fixed for the entire process.

The dumpsite in Ghazipur was established in 1984 and it is one of the major landfill sites in the country that has accumulated over 14 million tonnes of legacy waste. The landfill site is spreads over 70 acres and a deadline of September 2024 has been fixed for clearing the entire space. Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal had granted anticipatory approval to this proposal on September 30, 2021.

The EDMC house on Monday turned down and “referred back” the proposal from the executive wing to lease out the office space in newly constructed zonal headquarter building in Karkardooma. With construction work of the 12-storey office space nearing completion, the municipal commissioner had proposed to lease out office space of around 1 lakh square feet for revenue generation.