Pune: PMC’s Animal Incinerator Lies Idle For Three Years; Bavdhan Facility Likely To Be Shifted To Bopodi
Pune: PMC’s Animal Incinerator Lies Idle For Three Years; Bavdhan Facility Likely To Be Shifted To Bopodi
Renuka Suryavanshi
Pune, July 2, 2026: A ₹1.5 crore animal carcass incinerator built by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) at Bavdhan has remained non-operational for nearly three years after the Forest Department refused permission to use the facility. The civic body has now decided to relocate the project to Bopodi, a move expected to cost an additional ₹50 lakh.
A proposal seeking approval for the relocation has been placed before the PMC Standing Committee. However, officials fear that the project could face opposition from local residents in Bopodi due to the area’s dense population, potentially putting the civic body’s total investment of around ₹2 crore at risk.
The incinerator was constructed on Forest Department land to dispose of dead animals in the city. Although the facility was set up with the department’s consent and was intended to serve animals rescued at the Baner Rescue Centre, it has never been commissioned.
According to PMC officials, the Health Department later requested permission to use the incinerator for disposing of animal carcasses from across Pune. However, the Forest Department rejected the proposal, citing concerns that the operation of the incinerator could disturb other animals housed within the premises. It instead asked the civic body to shift the facility to another location.
Manisha Shekatkar, head, electrical department, Pune Municipal Corporation said, “That incinerator is in a forest area. They are not allowing us to use it for cremation. We are looking for another space to shift the incinerator.”
PMC currently operates two animal incinerators at the Naidu Hospital campus, but their limited capacity prompted the corporation to plan three additional facilities at Bavdhan, Mundhwa, and Katraj Zoo. While the Bavdhan project has remained idle, the corporation has now identified the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) premises in Bopodi as its new location.
The latest development has also revived criticism over PMC’s handling of infrastructure projects. In 2015, the corporation spent nearly ₹3 crore to construct another animal incinerator at the Uruli Devachi garbage depot. The project was later stalled following protests by local residents and shifted to Mundhwa. However, it too could not be commissioned because it fell within a river regulation zone (RRZ), leading to legal challenges before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
That facility has remained shut for over a decade, raising fresh concerns over repeated planning lapses and the financial burden of delayed or abandoned civic projects.
