Public interest litigation as indirect market-based instrument of pollution control

Abstract

Economic or market based instalments for pollution control has been in the policy agenda of the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests for a decade now. In the meantime, the law of pollution liability endorsed through environmental public interest litigation (PIL). and resultant judicial activism during the late 1980s and 1990s, has performed as indirect market based instruments of pollution management in India. While a purely judicial approach to environmental management can neither be effective or efficient, this paper argues that PIL has played a significant role in India's pollution management system. As a result new environmental legislation have been established, and economic incentives have been created for polluters to increase abatement (to reduce the risk of environmental damage costs). This has ultimately helped in the growth of a new environment market, where foreign investors perceive that PIL and judicial activism is a significant driving force behind the growth of the new market.