Ho Chi Minh City authorities will give US$70 in cash support for the cremation of dead bodies if the deceased have been listed in a household registration book in the city, Vietnamese media reported. This kind of support is included in a People’s Committee decision that will take effect on March 20, according to news website VnExpress. 

The assistance is aimed at encouraging people to apply incineration to their deceased relatives.  Authorities of every district in the city will use their annual state funds to present VND1.5 million ($70) to a household when a dead person is incinerated and falls into one of the following groups: those having a household registration book in the city; retired civil servants; and members of nearly-poor households.  Higher support, worth VND2.5 million ($117), will be supplied to a family when their deceased relative is cremated and belongs to one of these groups: “Heroic Vietnamese Mothers”; “People’s Armed Forces Heroes”; members of the Communist Party of Vietnam with seniority of 40 years upwards; revolutionary veterans; war invalids and sick soldiers who lose 81 percent of their working capability; and members of poor households. Meanwhile, all cases of incineration of dead children under six years old will be performed free of charge if the deceased have been listed in a household registration book in the city. Cremation is more civilized than burial, and thus more suitable for modern life, but Vietnamese people have yet to get accustomed to it, local authorities claimed, attributing the reason to the fact that burial has been practiced in Vietnam for a long time. The same type of support has been given by Hanoi authorities since January 1, 2013, with VND3 million ($140) applied for the cremation of an adult dead body and VND1.5 million for the incineration of a child under six, according to VnExpress.

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