[COVID-19 Deaths] Pune Housing Societies move Bombay High Court citing increase in air pollution due to rise in cremations

Six housing societies in Pune have approached the Bombay High Court highlighting the rise in air pollution due to the increase in the number of cremations in the nearby crematorium because of COVID-19 deaths. .The societies sought Court's intervention to address the health hazards posed by air pollution caused by the smoke released from the crematorium at Navi Peth, Pune. .The public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed through advocates Ajinkya Udane and Asim Sarode, stated that though the crematorium has a capacity of 20 bodies per day, they are now cremating over 100 bodies per day. The smoke that arises from cremating so many bodies is hazardous to human health and negatively impacting the heart and lungs, the petitioners submitted. "Air pollution is now the biggest environmental risk for early death especially in COVID-19 circumstances," the petition stated. .The PIL also stated that the dead bodies of a COVID patient are wrapped in plastic sheets or synthetic cloths generating a lot of bad odour and huge amount of black smoke. It was also submitted that after the bones of the cremated dead are given to the relatives, gunny bags full of ashes are thrown in the river causing further pollution..The petitioners also alleged that the claim by Pune Municipal Corporation on its website of having installed modern cremation equipment in six crematoriums in the city, is not true. All the crematoriums emit unhealthy smoke causing air pollution, the petition said. .The petitioners also submitted that they tried to search for and gather information from other parts of Maharashtra but could not find any specific guidelines for crematorium management or standards for handling bodies.They also alleged corruption in the process of issuing tenders and accepting bids for the installation of eco-friendly electric crematoriums. The plea stated that despite having a budget of Rs. 2 crores, the Corporation has still not completed the task of installing eco-friendly crematoriums. .The corporation also did not follow the standard requirements for a crematorium.For instance in an open cremation there is no pollution control system like a hood, blower, scrubber, etc. Standard design for a chimney is not followed; it is shorter in height due to which gas released into the air cannot move upwards but moves towards the ground level, it was contended. .The petitioners, therefore, sought directions for installation of high quality equipment for management of smoke release. They also prayed for distribution of crematorium load proportionately to other crematoriums as well so that one locality alone does not bear the brunt of the smoke. Pertinently, it was prayed that crematoriums should be shifted to locations with sparse population to minimise the threat of pollution.The PIL has sought monitoring of the air quality around crematoriums on quarterly basis.