40 Pune crematoria lack electric, gas pyres resulting in pollution: Audit report
Out of the 83 open pyres surveyed, none had any air pollution control mechanism resulting in pollution
The Pune Air Action Hub, a citizens’ initiative, has found during its latest survey that of the 40 crematoria in Pune, 7 had electric, and 16 had gas cremation facilities while out of the 83 open pyres surveyed, none had any air pollution control mechanism resulting in pollution.
The survey was conducted between December 2022 and January 2023 and the findings were collated and shared with Rajya Sabha MP Vandana Chavan, who in the first week of June sent letters to Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Central and Maharashtra Pollution Control Boards seeking effective measures.
The survey looked at the surroundings of the crematoria, whether there was greenery and in general good maintenance, availability of water and clean toilet facilities for men and women, space and availability of priests to carry out last rites, how the death passes were obtained, whether there were any phone numbers for the citizens to get any information.
Sharmila Deo, Parisar, which is part of Pune Air Action Hub, said, “Currently, there are no Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines for crematoria in urban areas and this is a huge gap in mitigation efforts. The Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has responded that CPCB is currently preparing the guidelines.”
“Experts believe that such guidelines are essential as in most cities the old crematoria are now surrounded by dense residential areas and are bearing the brunt of pollution coming from these crematoria,” she said.
Among the other findings of the survey, 45% of the surveyed crematoria had functional and clean toilets while 47% of the surveyed crematoria were found to have pleasant and clean surroundings.
Sathya Natarajan, member of the Pune Air Action Hub, said, “With a little upkeep and some small immediate interventions, many crematoria can be easily accessed by nearby residents. Residents should be encouraged to use the facilities at the crematorium closest to them”.
Shweta Vernekar, Parisar said, “There is a severe dearth of electric furnaces in the city. PMC should replace wood-burning furnaces with electric ones to help mitigate the pollution and the health impacts caused to citizens staying around the crematoria. There needs to be mass awareness amongst citizens to highlight the benefits of opting for electric cremations over wood. Although it is not simple as it has a cultural and religious angle to it, with consistent dialogue and the right information given to the public, there will be considerable change.”
Shinwas Kandul, additional city engineer of the electrical department, said, “We have a proper air pollution system and infrastructure at crematoria located in PMC area excluding newly merged villages. We spend around ₹4 crore every year for maintenance. We are also replacing the traditional wood fire system and introducing gas and electrical systems to reduce pollution. For newly merged villages, it will take time to develop proper infrastructure.”
Key findings
Out of the 83 open pyres surveyed, none had any air pollution control mechanism
Out of the 40 crematoria surveyed, only 7 had electric, and 16 had gas cremation facility
Only 45% of the surveyed crematoria had functional and clean toilets
Only 47% of the surveyed crematoria were found to have pleasant and clean surroundings
Recommendations
Improve basic services like water, clean toilets at the crematoria
Increasing the share of electric and gas cremations over wood burning, which is very limited currently
Ward-wise decentralisation of outreach and information related to crematoria should be taken up
Citizen feedback for the betterment of crematoria services should be conducted