First pet crematorium run by MCD begins operations

The facility has come up on a 700 sqm site inside the four-acre Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) dog complex in Dwarka Sector 29

Delhi’s first municipal pet crematorium has begun operations and is likely to be inaugurated soon, officials associated with the project said on Monday.

The crematorium has two CNG furnaces. (HT Photo)

The facility, which has been named Furry Friends Forever, has come up on a 700 sqm site inside the four-acre Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) dog complex in Dwarka Sector 29, where a sterilisation centre is already operational. The crematorium has two CNG furnaces and the charges for cremation will vary from ₹2,000 to ₹3,000, depending on the weight of the animal, the officials said.

The facility also offers condolences, puja ceremonies, ambulance services, as well as a memorial garden, where pet parents can place the ashes in a biodegradable urn and grow a tree in their pet’s name.

While initially the corporation planned to set up a dog-only crematorium, the project has been expanded to include other small animals such as cats, goats, sheep and monkeys.

The crematorium complex will have a green belt in its periphery along with an ash storage facility and a prayer room with a priest. A bathing unit has also been earmarked for providing a bath before the cremation, and a priest will be deputed carry out the rituals, a senior municipal corporation official said.

The much-delayed project was first conceptualised in 2018 by the erstwhile south MCD, and is being executed in a public–private partnership mode, with the entire cost of construction, upkeep, and maintenance of the crematorium being taken up by the NGO Green Revolution Foundation.

The official that the last hurdle in the project was a 3-km gas pipeline connection to the remote site. “The crematorium has two CNG furnaces with a 200kg and a 150kg biomass capacity each. The two furnaces can be used to cater to 10 private pets and 15 small stray animals in a day with each cremation cycle lasting 30 minutes to one hour. This is a green system and no emissions will be caused,” the official added.

At present in Delhi, there are around half-a-dozen private operators providing cremation facilities for pets. The cost for a dog weighing 25kg is between ₹6000-7000 for a traditional pyre-method, while the electric furnace costs ₹9000-10,000. For animals that weigh less than 15kg, the rates are around ₹5000.

For unclaimed dead animals and carcasses, the civic body runs an animal rendering plant near the Ghazipur slaughterhouse.