Do you know how much wood is needed on average to cremate a single body at any Hindu funeral ghat?
Depending on the weather, an average funeral pyre requires approximately 250-300 kilograms of wood. That equates to the wood obtained from two trees that are at least 20 years old.
Nagpur’s Vijay Limaye has found a solution to this colossal daily consumption of wood. It is not only sustainable but also helps save lakhs of trees that are felled every year for pyre wood. The solution is biomass briquettes.
Turning biomass into briquettes and pellets is widely discussed across India, particularly because it helps reduce stubble burning and thereby indirectly supports India’s clean energy goals. Crop residue is being burnt in almost every state, but there is a lot of attention focused on the parali burning in Punjab and Haryana, as it directly contributes to pollution in the Delhi-NCR region.
Vijay Limaye’s non-profit, which works towards eco-cremation, has pioneered the use of biomass for cremation — replacing traditional wood logs with agro-waste briquettes, which he has named Mokshakashtha.
He devised a formula for using locally available crop residue to convert it into briquettes. His innovation helps reduce deforestation, curb carbon emissions, and channel agricultural residue into meaningful use.
As of July 2025, six crematoriums in Nagpur city (out of more than a dozen) are using briquettes for cremation. They consume an average of 1,200 tonnes of briquettes per year. “This saves 10,000 trees from being felled in Nagpur alone,” Limaye said.
Only two other cities in Maharashtra — Mumbai and Navi Mumbai — are using pellet-based cremation, at nine and 12 crematoriums respectively. Limaye is disheartened that this concept has not gained the popularity it deserves.
“The main reason is corruption. There is a strong lobby of wood suppliers to the crematoriums,” he says. But more than anything, it is the absolute disregard for environmental issues by politicians and bureaucrats that angers him. “Does saving trees not count?” he asked.
Scaling it up nationwide presents clear challenges — religious beliefs aside. There is no official recognition of the practice, and therefore no policy decisions regarding it. This in turn means there is no policy to support localised production and related supply chains. Citizens who might opt for it, and farmers who need to be incentivised not to burn crop residue, both require education and awareness.
The Centre launched the Biomass Programme five years ago — a scheme to promote the manufacturing of briquettes and pellets, and biomass (non-bagasse) based cogeneration in industries for FY 2021-22 to 2025-26. Slowly and steadily, it has taken off, at least in the Delhi-NCR region. And eventually, it may spread across India.
Therefore, perhaps the next scheme the government needs to launch is a ‘Use of Briquettes & Pellets for Cremation’ programme — raising sufficient awareness and facilitating decentralised, local manufacturing with community participation.
(The writer is an architect interested in environmental and developmental issues)