Pune Infra Watch: PMC appoints NEERI as consultant to modify Vaikunth crematorium

The PMC had earlier entrusted the NEERI with a study to assess the extent of air pollution caused by the crematorium in Navi Peth and recommend solutions to it after residents approached National Green Tribunal and Bombay High Court complaining about it.

“The proposal was received from the Union government agency and it is the only expert government agency in the country. It is necessary to appoint NEERI for modifying the air pollution control (APC) system at the crematoriums with immediate effect as per the directions of the court,” said municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar.

The PMC will pay Rs 15 lakh to the NEERI to act as a consultant for one year and for installing modified units, Kumar said. It will provide technical consultancy and design for common as well as separate APC units and carry out performance testing after getting those installed by private agencies, he added.

Earlier, in its preliminary report as per court directions, the NEERI had expressed the “need of modifications in use of fuel for pyres that till now used wood, cow dung cakes or briquettes. It has also recommended modification in (the) design of hoods and additional provision of blowers, continuous monitoring by CCTV, detailed and scientific monitoring of exhaust gasses and provisions necessary to determine (the) performance of installed air purification control system”.

“There might be a need for modification of electrically or gas-fired furnaces in its design, operation and maintenance of the furnace along with the air pollution control system from an environmental point of view,” the NEERI had stated in a report after conducting the preliminary study.

The NEERI had also said that a buffer zone or green belt around the crematorium is to be developed and called for awareness about the procedures to be adopted for cremation, especially the corpses from hospitals, development of standard operating procedures and adequate monitoring systems with better sensor efficacies.

The Vaikunth Smashan Bhoomi, situated in the heart of the city, was developed on an eight-acre land in 1958. It has four wood-based pyre sheds with six pyres each. Each wood pyre shed has two air purification control systems, one for every three pyres, a separate blower and a common chimney of 30 metres. Apart from this, there are three electric furnaces and one gas furnace with each having an individual air pollution control system, blower and a common chimney of 30 metres.