Estimating Sectoral and Geographical Industrial Pollution Inventories in India: Implications for Using Effluent Charge Versus Regulation

Developing countries are increasingly concerned about the growing pollution levels in cities. Because of the lack of reliable information on the nature and magnitude of emissions/discharges from various industrial sources it is difficult for regulators to formulate cost-effective strategies for industrial pollution control. This article uses the Industrial Pollution Projection System database to estimate the industrial pollution load and the associated abatement cost, which can be used to design cost-effective strategies for pollution control. The article also illustrates the cost-effectiveness of market based instruments such as effluent charge vis-a-vis regulation.