The Delhi government has started talks with the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to ensure carbon emission free funerals in the country.

Delhi’s environment ministry has urged the MoEF to set up a technical committee to form a policy for “standardised engineering design for green crematoria.”

In a letter to Union Minister of State Anil Madhav Dave, the Environment Minister Imran Hussain also called for an urgent measure to switch from the existing largely wood crematoria to “green” crematoria while pointing out that burning of biomass remains as one of the major contributors to air pollution in Delhi. “There is an urgent need to convert existing wood-based crematoria into green crematoria. In an effort to address the issue, the Govt of NCT of Delhi has recently undertaken extensive measures to modify the designs of traditional crematoria into green ones with smoke tappers. CSIR National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) is being tasked with the work of creating engineering designs for creating such non-polluting crematoria,” the letter said.

There are around 400 cremation grounds in Delhi using around 350-400 kilos of wood, according to Mokshda, an NGO working to develop green crematoria. “We have been working for 25 years in this sector. In our experience, if the system is too technical or requires a lot of maintenance, it may not work,” Anshul Garg of Mokshda told the Times of India.

Hussain also asked the MoEF to direct the Central Pollution Control Board and state governments to implement the policy to control air pollution.