Work starts on Delhi’s first pet crematorium; to be ready by March
A senior veterinary department official from North corporation said the request has already been sent to the Delhi Development Authority, the land-owning agency, for allocation of land
In about a year, Delhi will have two pet crematoria, managed by the municipal corporations of Delhi. The work orders have been issued for the facility being built by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) in Dwarka’s Sector 29, official said on Thursday, while the North Delhi Municipal Corporation is planning to build a facility and the corporation commissioner Sanjay Goel has included the project in the budgetary proposals for 2022-23.
A senior veterinary department official from North corporation said the request has already been sent to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the land-owning agency, for allocation of land. “The primary goal is to ensure the scientific disposal of pet carcasses, especially those of dogs that are suspected to be rabid; the carcasses should not end up at landfill sites,” a north corporation official said, adding that the project will be taken up on pulic-private partnership (PPP) model, once the DDA approves the land.
Meanwhile, after several plan revisions, the work order for the pet crematorium in Dwarka’s Sector 29 have finally been issued. Dr Ravindra Sharma, director of veterinary services, SDMC, said the project will be carried out on a PPP model and the private company has started site levelling and foundation work. “According to the final site plan, two furnaces with 150kg and 200kg capacity are being set up at the crematorium being built over a 700 square metre area. The 150kg unit will be used for pets while the 200kg furnace will be used for stray dogs,” he added. Sharma said the design of the crematorium incorporates wet scrubbers and air purifiers and the facility will be largely smokeless and eco-friendly.
SDMC has fixed two slabs for dog cremations — ₹2,000 for a less than 30kg dog carcass and ₹3,000 for dogs weighing more than 30kg. “The cremation of a dog takes about 1 to 1.5 hours and there will be a cooling off period of 30 minutes,” the veterinary director said.
The site plan also incorporates lockers for storage of ashes and also a prayer room.
The south corporation has a four acre plot in Sector 29 where the civic body plans to set up a dog complex, apart from the crematorium. A sterilisation centre for dogs is currently operational. The site had become a point of controversy in April and May, when the city was faced its worst wave of Covid-19 yet and mortality rates shot up.The civic body had decided to create temporary pyre platforms there with a goal of expanding the daily cremation capacity. Ultimately, the site was never used for human cremations.
