Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation has approved a ₹10.47 crore proposal to install eco-friendly, gasification-based cremation systems at six crematoriums across the city, with the civic body saying the technology will reduce wood consumption, cremation time and emissions.
The proposal was placed before the corporation’s general body on Monday and received approval, according to a report by Loksatta. The systems are planned for crematoriums in Diwanman, Navghar, Tulinj, Achole, Phulpada and Viratnagar.
According to the municipal administration’s claims cited in the report, the new system will reduce the wood required for a cremation from about 450 kilograms to 125 kilograms. The cremation process, which currently takes between four and five hours, is expected to take approximately 90 minutes after the new systems are installed.
The proposed technology is based on a natural-draft gasification process. Its scrubber unit will operate on solar energy, while smoke will pass through a four-stage filtration process before being released through a 100-foot chimney. The corporation has claimed that the system will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 60 per cent and leave about 2 per cent residue.
The municipal decision comes amid complaints about smoke from cremation grounds spreading into nearby residential areas. The report said that more than 100 cremation grounds have been built at different locations in the Vasai-Virar municipal area, but some lack chimneys for smoke dispersal. Residents have also raised concerns about poor maintenance and inadequate facilities at certain sites.
The corporation’s stated objective is to address pollution from cremation activities while improving the infrastructure available at selected cremation grounds. The administration has said that the proposed system will allow traditional Hindu rituals and practices to be followed while reducing the use of firewood.
Vasai-Virar has previously introduced gas cremators at seven cremation grounds, including facilities at Navghar, Pachubandar, Virat Nagar, Achole and Samelpada. However, the report said that residents have not widely used those facilities. Councillors attributed the limited response partly to inadequate public awareness efforts by the administration.
Mayor Ajiv Patil said collective efforts would be required to increase the use of the existing gas cremators. He also raised the possibility of imposing an additional fee on people who continue to use wood, with the aim of encouraging the use of gas-based facilities.
The newly approved project is expected to cover six crematoriums. The municipal corporation has not specified in the supplied report when installation will begin, when the systems will become operational or how their performance will be independently assessed after commissioning.
