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    Polluter Pays Principle

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    Ruchita Kaundal
    The Polluter Pays Principle was first introduced by the OECD in 1972 and aims to make the polluter financially responsible for environmental damage. It was further established in the Rio Declaration in 1992, stating that polluters should bear the costs of pollution. The Indian judiciary has incorporated this principle in environmental cases, ruling that polluting industries and activities should pay compensation to affected parties and for environmental remediation. However, issues remain in clearly identifying polluters and ensuring compensation is adequate relative to the damage caused.

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    Polluter Pays Principle

    Uploaded by

    Ruchita Kaundal
    85 views3 pages
    The Polluter Pays Principle was first introduced by the OECD in 1972 and aims to make the polluter financially responsible for environmental damage. It was further established in the Rio Declaration in 1992, stating that polluters should bear the costs of pollution. The Indian judiciary has incorporated this principle in environmental cases, ruling that polluting industries and activities should pay compensation to affected parties and for environmental remediation. However, issues remain in clearly identifying polluters and ensuring compensation is adequate relative to the damage caused.

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    The Polluter Pays Principle was first introduced by the OECD in 1972 and aims to make the polluter financially responsible for environmental damage. It was further established in the Rio Declaration in 1992, stating that polluters should bear the costs of pollution. The Indian judiciary has incorporated this principle in environmental cases, ruling that polluting industries and activities should pay compensation to affected parties and for environmental remediation. However, issues remain in clearly identifying polluters and ensuring compensation is adequate relative to the damage caused.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    85 views3 pages

    Polluter Pays Principle

    Uploaded by

    Ruchita Kaundal
    The Polluter Pays Principle was first introduced by the OECD in 1972 and aims to make the polluter financially responsible for environmental damage. It was further established in the Rio Declaration in 1992, stating that polluters should bear the costs of pollution. The Indian judiciary has incorporated this principle in environmental cases, ruling that polluting industries and activities should pay compensation to affected parties and for environmental remediation. However, issues remain in clearly identifying polluters and ensuring compensation is adequate relative to the damage caused.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

    1. The Polluter Pays Principle was first introduced in 1972 by the


    Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
    2. Guiding Principles concerning International Economic Aspects of
    Environmental policies where under the polluter was held responsible
    for the environmental damage and pollution.
    3. Subsequently, the Rio Declaration laid down the guidelines for
    sustainable development meaning thereby a strategy to cater the
    needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of
    the future generation.
    4. In furtherance of the aim of sustainable development Rio Declaration
    Principle 16 of the Rio Declaration enshrined the Polluter Pays
    principle stating that the polluter should bear the cost of pollution.

    THE CONCEPT

    Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the


    present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
    own needs.

    The Polluter Pays Principle imposes liability on a person who pollutes the
    environment to compensate for the damage caused and return the
    environment to its original state regardless of the intent.

    VIEW OF THE INDIAN JUDICIARY

    The Indian Judiciary has incorporated the Polluter Pays Principle as being a
    part of the Environmental Law regime is evident from the judgments passed.

     Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action vs. Union of India 1996(3)


    SCC 212
    The Court held that once the activity carried on is hazardous or
    inherently dangerous, the person carrying on such activity is liable to
    make good the loss caused to any other person by his activity
    irrespective of the fact whether he took reasonable care while carrying
    on his activity. The rule is premised upon the very nature of the
    activity carried on.
     Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum vs. Union of India 1996(5) SCC
    647
    The Court interpreted the meaning of the Polluter Pays Principle as
    the absolute liability for harm to the environment extends not only to
    compensate the victims of the pollution but also the cost of restoring
    the environmental degradation. Remediation of the damaged
    environment is part of the process of 'Sustainable Development' and
    as such the polluter is liable to pay the cost to the individual sufferers
    as well as the cost of reversing the damaged ecology."
     The Oleum Gas Leak case (M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India) AIR
    1987 SC 1086
    The Court laid down that an enterprise engaged in a hazardous or
    inherently dangerous industry which poses a potential threat to the
    health and safety of persons working in the factory and to those
    residing in the surrounding areas, owes an absolute and non-
    delegable duty to the community to ensure that no harm results to
    any one on account of hazardous or inherently dangerous nature of
    the activity which it has undertaken. The enterprise is absolutely
    liable to compensate for such harm and irrespective of all reasonable
    care taken on his account. The larger and more prosperous the
    enterprise, greater must be the amount of the compensation payable
    for the harm caused on account of an accident in the carrying on of
    the hazardous or inherently dangerous activity by the enterprise.
     M. C. Mehta vs Kamal Nath & Ors (1997)1SCC388
    The Court held that pollution is a civil wrong and is a tort committed
    against the community as a whole. Thus, any person guilty of causing
    pollution has to pay damages (compensation) for restoration of the
    environment and ecology. Under the Polluter Pays Principle, it is not
    the role of Government to meet the costs involved in either prevention
    of such damage, or in carrying out remedial action, because the effect
    of this would be to shift the financial burden of the pollution incident
    to the taxpayer.

    CONCLUSION

    Although the Polluter Pays Principle has helped to mitigate the damage
    being caused to the environment to some extent, the provision remains
    an inadequate remedy as ambiguity persists regarding clear
    identification of the actual polluter. The polluter may be a part of the
    "production chain" and it is difficult to impose the liability on such
    polluter when the courts consider the parameters of extent and
    contribution of causing pollution.

    Moreover, under this principal, the amount of compensation to be


    charged for the restoration of the damage caused to the environment
    remains to be inadequate in comparison to the loss actually caused.

    More effective and unambiguous provisions with regards to the


    implementation of the Polluter Pays Principle would be beneficial in
    the longer run.

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