NGO running 'green crematoriums' moves HC offering to cremate COVID-19 casualties

NGO running 'green crematoriums' filed a plea in the Delhi High Court on Saturday offering its services to cremate the bodies of those who died due to COVID-19.

New Delhi: A plea was moved in the Delhi High Court on Saturday by an NGO, which runs several "green crematoriums" in the national capital and other parts of the country, offering its services to cremate the bodies of those who died due to COVID-19.

The petition by NGO Mokshda Paryavaran Evam Van Suraksha Samiti was filed through advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, who said the matter would be listed for hearing on June 3.

Mokshda, in its plea, has said that it has installed 16 green crematoriums in Delhi out of which six are at the Nigam Bodh ghat and can handle 24 cremations a day.

It said that it has moved the petition, offering its services after coming to know through news reports that the Delhi High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the lack of facilities to cremate those who died of COVID-19.

Anguished by lack of facilities to cremate those who died due to COVID-19 and the bodies piling up in the mortuaries, the high court had on May 28 initiated on its own a PIL to deal with the issue, saying if this was the correct situation then it was "highly dissatisfactory and violative of the rights of the dead".

The court had said it was pained at the state of affairs as reported in newspapers on Thursday.

The news reports had said that the backlog in disposal of bodies was due to non-functioning of CNG furnaces at Nigambodh and Punjabi Bagh crematoriums.

On Friday, May 29, the Delhi government told the court that 28 such bodies were cremated on Thursday and the last rites of the remaining 35 will be performed by Saturday.

Bodies will be retained only if post-mortem and investigations are to be carried out, it had said.

It had also informed the court that urgent steps were taken to remedy the situation, including that LNJP Hospital being authorised to divert bodies to crematoriums at Panchkuian and Punjab Bagh, as opposed to only Nigambodh Ghat.

The Delhi government also told the court that it has now authorised wood-fired traditional cremations, in addition to electric and CNG furnaces, providing personal protection (PPE) kits for all workers at crematorium and bodies and the working hours of crematoriums are extended to 7AM-10 PM from existing 9 AM - 4 PM.

It had further said that the situation, based on which the court had initiated the suo motu proceedings, was a result of unavoidable circumstances like reduced capacity of Nigambodh Ghat to handle bodies on account of snags in furnaces, workers at crematorium refusing to handle COVID-19 deceased, sudden spike in coronavirus cases and related deaths in Delhi and relatives refusing to come forward to claim bodies.

PTI Report