Polluter Pays Principle – A Grand Environmental Farce

Y Babji, Editor, Public Relations Voice

Picture this: a mining boss turns India's northwest green wall, the Aravali hills, into stones; sand mafias throw rocks at a Forest Ranger in Bihar; companies talk CSR and ESG while common people pay for clean-up. Welcome to India's "Polluter Pays" rule, where the polluter pays... someday, if ever. Written into the Environmental Protection Act of 1986 and supported by Supreme Court of India in Vellore Citizens case (1996), this good idea says those who harm nature must pay to fix it. This is a remediation arrangement. But forests disappear, rivers get blocked, sand vanishes and hills break as government land deals, weak regulators and fake-green companies act in this sad comedy.

Origin of PPP

In the big Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India case, "Polluter Pays Principle" made tanneries (animal skin processing) fully responsible for cleaning Tamil Nadu's dirty Palar River and paying victims. Polluters must pay for fixing nature and restoration, not regular people. This became the base for sustainable growth in India's nature laws.

While infrastructure PPPs leverage private capital for development, environmental PPPs often use the polluter pays rule to enforce accountability and fund sustainability, though "climate-smart PPPs" blend both by integrating environmental goals into infrastructure projects.

Forests for Sale & Mountains for Mining

India's nature problems read like a joke. Bihar's Gaya area (December 2025) saw sand gangs attack a forest ranger stopping illegal digging in Phalgu River, calling it "development" by throwing stones. Aravali hills, which stop Thar Desert from spreading, face Supreme Court orders to stop new mining leases, but years of stone cutting have hurt this key water source. Sterlite's poison in Thoothukudi (2018, 13 killed), Aarey forest trees cut for Mumbai Metro shed, Hasdeo Arand fights by Chhattisgarh tribal people, Goa's Mollem road through Western Ghats, the same story: Governments give "deemed forests" to projects and private people.

The 2023 Forest Conservation Act changes allow special projects up to 0.1 hectare without full checks, but weak approvals turn public land into private money-makers. Sand gangs change Bihar/Himachal rivers, causing floods; Aravali's 100m no-go zones exist only on paper. Polluter Pays? More like "Polluter Plays," with people (tax payers) paying for flood relief while wrongdoers get out on bail.

Allotments Over Ecology

Forests are on India's Constitution Concurrent List (42nd Amendment, 1976), so both Central and State governments make laws (central wins if fight). Governments control land change under Forest Act, requiring new forest planting to replace lost ones. Truth? Money beats nature zones. City councils ignore building dust; village councils fear gang attacks. Bihar needs armed guards for rangers; Aravali needs clear rules beyond court orders. Polluter Pays court sits empty; online approvals pick speed over care. Local groups could stop bad projects through village meetings, but lack of staff and politics keep things going as usual.

Telangana Example: During TRS (now BRS) time (2014-2024), Telangana lost forest net despite Haritha Haram tree program. It ranked high for giving forest land to projects, forest cover stayed at 24%, with Adilabad losses balancing gains, of course, at Jagtial and Nagar Kurnool.

Greenwashing's Greatest Hits

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environment Social Governance (ESG) rules act as excuses for polluters. ITC plants trees on 1.2 million acres (good job); Hariyali raises soil carbon 12-15%, but animals get less than 1% CSR money. Mining companies pay for Aravali "fixing" photo events while digging more. ESG rules ask for nature reports for zero-carbon by 2070, but small tree planting avoids fines while claiming SDG 15 success. Active polluters "give back trust" with pictures; real fixing waits. Real Polluter Pays needs must-pay repair bonds, not choose-to-do fake good.

Cheerleaders or Watchdogs?

News people get praise. NDTV/BBC show Aravali damage, local papers highlight Bihar ranger attacks causing anger and court action. But CorpCom people often clean up polluters' names: #SaveAravali fights client mining ads. NGOs and people groups could push real change, checking fake green claims with ESG checks, working with news for clear facts. Social media makes citizens reporters; yearly reports check responsibility. PR's job: connect people without defending bad industry. Drop "green talk" – ask: Who pays for Phalgu's worn river banks?

PCB Pipe Dream

State Pollution Control Boards give Air/Water Act permissions, fining wrongdoers, only on paper. Bihar board checks sand areas now and then; Haryana lazily watches Aravali dust. NGT asked for ₹50 crore from Yamuna polluters, but money not collected. City groups blame farm waste for Delhi smoke (forget vehicular traffic and plastic recycling factories); village ones stop mining only in writing. Short of workers and money, they need CSR drones/AI. Joined with Biological Diversity Act and animal laws for rivers, boards could make Polluter Pays work, if given real power beyond show.

Legal Lifelines

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (changed 2023), stops non-forest use without approval, balancing tree numbers and growth. Indian Forest Act, 1927 protects marked areas; Environment Impact Assessment 2020 protests showed weak rules risk. National Green Tribunal follows MC Mehta's old wins (PILs in environmental issues), but slow work hurts. Rivers get protection from sand gangs, if followed.

Resilience at Stake

Aravali stops desert growth; Bihar rivers grow crops. Sand digging causes floods; mining hurts water areas. This joke needs fix: CSR tree bonds, punished government land deals, news gang exposés, tech boards, people using RTI. Viksit Bharat 2047 needs strong Earth, not broken stones.

Indore Water Contamination

When factories or builders dirty Indore's water supply, the Polluter Pays rule says they must pay to clean it up, fix the damage and compensate affected families. The Water Act 1974 calls this "harmful change" to water and holds polluters fully responsible with no excuses needed (like the Bichhri case where chemical plants poisoned Rajasthan groundwater).

But here's the joke: when courts order clean up, the Madhya Pradesh government or Indore Municipal Corporation writes the cheque. Whose money is that? Taxpayers'. So polluters keep their profits while citizens pay twice - once for the damage, again for the "fix." Pure Polluter Pays theatre.

The Punchline

Polluter Pays is Earth's biggest joke. Forest rangers in Bihar dodge stones from sand mafias. Aravali hills bleed from mining. Companies take selfies planting tiny saplings while destruction continues.

CSR and ESG must pay for real clean up, not photo opportunities. Governments must choose forests over land deals. Media must expose polluters, not protect them. Pollution boards must inspect sites, not just sign papers.

If India follows Forest Act and other laws properly, this comedy can become real responsibility. Until then, polluters deposit profits in banks while nature suffers and taxpayers pay the bill.