1. INTRODUCTION
Industrialization in India started in 1854 with the first cotton mill in Bombay and since then India has always moved forward in its industry setup making India a developing country from an underdeveloped one. From economic growth, a more efficient division of labor and a growth spurt in technological innovation, industrial revolution has done it all. But every coin has two sides and the same goes with industrial revolution as well. On one hand, Industrial revolution has made peoples life easy in the 21st century. On the other hand, rapid industrial revolution has resulted in environmental and industrial pollution. Though the industrial and technological advancements have helped to improve the food products, raise living standards, solve time and space problems and control some health related problems, yet they have adversely affected the natural environment and thereby disturbed the the balance of nature. [6]
During the last 50 years, industries, specifically manufacturing industries, nuclear industry and the hazardous or ultra-hazardous chemicals used in these industries are the major contributors to environmental pollution. But now it has been realized that the industries are also social units with rights and duties towards the surrounding community and the consumer. It is their duty not to harm the health of the man and the nature. The World Commission on Environment and Development, in its report, has suggested that environment cost of economic activity can be internalized- paid by the enterprises. It may be in the form of investment to prevent the damages, or to restore unavoidable damages or of compensating the victims of health and property damages. Thus, enterprises should be encouraged to invest in preventive, restorative or compensatory measures.[8]
The idea of polluter pay principle was introduced by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and was recommended by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1972 in its report Our Common Future as an essentially economic efficiency measure- to internalize environmental costs. [7] Polluter Pay Principle (PPP) was initially recognized as one of the economic and administrative measures to restrain and contain the pollution problem, but now it has been recently adopted as a strong legal to minimize environmental pollution.
2. MEANING AND APPLICATION
The polluter pay principle essentially holds the polluter liable for the pollution caused to the environment. The polluter is liable for every damage caused to the environment. So according to the polluter pay principle, the polluter has to not only compensate the victims of pollution but also compensate for the restoration of environmental degradation he/she has caused. In M.C. Mehta v. Union of India,1986[1]. It was declared by the court that we have to evolve new principles and lay down new norms, which would adequately deal with the new problems which arise in a highly industrialized economy.
3. IMPORTANT JUDGEMENTS
The polluter pay principle was for the first time, applied and defined in the case of Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India.[2] In this case, Justice Dalveer Bhandari declared that redemption of the damaged environment is a part of the process of sustainable development and as such the polluter is liable to pay the cost of the individual sufferers as well as the cost of recovering the damaged ecology. Thus, the absolute liability of harming the environment extends not only to compensate the victims but also to the cost of restoring the environmental degradation. The financial burden cannot be shifted to the shoulders of the government neither in preventing nor in correcting the dent. In this case, five chemical industries were producing H-acid. Out of the five industries, one industry named Hindustan Agro Chemical Ltd. caused discomfort in the lives of the people of Bichhri, a village located in Udaipur. An untreated toxic sludge was discharged into the open compound which flowed through the canal across the entire area and the rain water washed the sludge deep into the bowels of the Earth which led to pollution of river and underground water. It further left the fields of this area infertile. As a result the residents of Bichhri and of nearby villages had to migrate to other places. The case was taken up by the Supreme Court on a petition filed by the Indian Council for Enviro-legal Action of Udaipur as a public interest litigation. The court while making the landmark judgement kept in mind that any principle adopted by it must be simple, practical and suitable to the conditions prevailing in the country.[6]
The Supreme Court in the Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India[3] reiterated and declared in unequivocal terms that the precautionary principle and the polluter pays principle are part of the environmental jurisprudence of this country. These principles have also been accepted as a part of law of the land as articles 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees protection of life and personal liberty. [8] In the case of Research Foundation for Science Technology National Resource Policy v. Union of India andAnr[4] the polluter pays principle was considered as a part of the customary practices of international laws for the protection of the environment. Hence, the principles ought to be included in environmental laws of India, according to the judges. InA.P. Pollution Control Board v. Prof. M.V. Nayude (Retd.) and Ors. [5]Case, the judges enabled the courts, tribunals and other environmental organizations to apply these principles when cases are registered in the tribunals or organization. [7]
4. STATUTES PASSED BY THE PARLIAMENT
There are certain statutes passed by the Parliament of India, that directly or indirectly adhere to the polluter pay principle. The Public Liability Insurance Act of 1991 makes it a mandatory duty of all the industries, which have a capital value of Rs. Two hundred thousand to get insured under the Act. The premium of such insurance will be collected under the Environment Relief Fund which can be used to pay or give relief to the victims of the industrial accidents. Similarly, the National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995 provides that the tribunal can grant compensation on grounds of any environmental damage and such an amount shall be remitted to the authority for being credited to the Environment Relief Fund.[6]
5. CONCLUSION
The Supreme Court of India has been very responsive and effective in the matter of Polluter Pay Principle. The court has always come to rescue of those who have suffered due to pollution be it man or nature. It has been made clear that the old concept that development and ecology cannot go together is no longer correct. The pollution created as a consequence of development must be recovered with the carrying capacity of the nature. Therefore, precautionary principle and polluter pays principle have become essential features of sustainable development.
[1]M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, 1986.- AIR 997 SC 734
[2]Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India - SC 196
[3]Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India - AIR 1996 SC 2715, 2721.
[4]Research Foundation for Science Technology National Resource Policy v. Union of India and Anr - Case no. 657
[5]A.P. Pollution Control Board v. Prof. M.V. Nayude (Retd.) and Ors. - AIR 1999, SCW 434
[6]Satish C. Shastri, " The Polluter Pay Principle And The Supreme Court Of India" Journal of Indian Law Institute [Vol. 42], 2000
[7]Shristi Sahu ,"The Concept of Polluter Pays and its Potential in India" I- Pleaders
[8]"The Polluter Pay Principle and its Implementation in India" Prime Legal
