New Delhi, Dec. 26 -- The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has directed the public health department to set up three model crematoria aimed at reducing emissions and significantly reducing the use of firewood. The facilities will be developed at Green Park, Dwarka and Jwala Nagar, standing committee chairperson Satya Sharma said. Officials said they will replace wood with alternative fuels, as well as experiment with logs made of cattle dung. A municipal official said that a meeting under the chairmanship of Sharma took place. "We have held meetings with NGOs and other stakeholders. The next meeting has been fixed for January 6. A survey of all municipal and private cremation grounds has been done," the official said. Conversion of traditional crematoria to cleaner fuels is a mandate under the National Clean Air Programme. Officials said that while increased cow dung use could reduce firewood use, it may not reduce emissions. "Chimneys with scrubbers and emission absorption mechanism can prove to be more useful along with moving to natural gas and electric crematoria," the official said. The Delhi government's environment department has estimated that around Rs.125 crore would be needed to convert 32 wood and biomass-fuelled crematoriums to PNG and cleaner fuels. According to the annual report on registration of births and deaths in Delhi, the city registered 139,480 deaths in 2024....