Damn Our Environmental Commons?

Damn Our Environmental Commons?

Ganga Prasad G. Rao
http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar

English language has many phrases. 'Necessity is the mother of invention' is one all of us have heard of. But, as necessary as environmental remediation is, there is no invention, little interest and certainly no action to speak of. Many rivers in India – choking with garbage and untreated sewage - are the dying testament to this observation. One would presume cities – the hub of economic activity of modern India – are endowed with resources sufficient to maintain their environs. One presumes wrong. In developed countries, lakes and river banks are prime property, protected either by the governing authority as parks and playgrounds or taken over by private developers to build luxury villas and residential enclaves. But, in our cities and towns, the converse reigns true. Our lakes and rivers are choked with garbage of all sorts over and above the untreated or half-treated sewage. Household waste, industrial waste, used tyres, plastic waste, dead dogs, pruned waste from the butcher shop – you name it, it's there dumped by the lake or choking the river channel. They say there is a silver lining to every cloud. Indeed, our water bodies may now qualify for funding from both the solid waste and the effluent monitoring authorities!

It's not as if we the citizens of India do not notice what is happening around us. Stench? Yeah, it does stink, but it's transitory and barely noticeable if one turns up the car windows. (Besides, who opens the window during summers?!). Lakes? Lakes we fill with garbage because that removes them from zoning laws and the grips of environmentalists. Spread a layer of earth; lo and behold, it is prime property for raising a multi-storied building! As for the groundwater, ...hey, don't you have anything better to do? Being a coastal city, these issues do not matter as much to Chennai, because the river flows in to the ocean and the oceans are recognized dumping zones internationally(!). But, consider the plight of villages, towns and cities that lie downstream of cities on major inland rivers like the Ganges. How do these population congregations live with the knowledge that untreated sewage, carcinogenic chemicals and industrial waste, household garbage and bodies are let in to the river upstream? Does anyone use water from or waddle in these rivers? Seriously though, is there any hope for these rivers and these communities?

There is, but only if we care. We all pay property taxes and sewerage fees. But it is the rule rather than the exception that the funds collected are siphoned away, mis-utilized or otherwise inadequate on account of low rates or insufficient coverage. Corruption aside, could we bring about a change in policy instrument that achieves the desired goal? Sadly, public ownership has a demonstrated track record of failure in the stewardship of environmental and public goods – at least in developing countries. Hence, a publicly elected body, with all its politics and interference, is unlikely to safeguard public resources. Private stewardship, on the other hand, if properly designed, could bring about the desired result. Environmental protection and restoration is a particularly expensive activity. It requires dedicated funds collected as user charges (that induce users to conserve on their use of the 'free' public good/convenience). If we could ensure every household, every business and every industry pays a user fee for its solid waste and effluent discharge in proportion to the damage (in other words, a variable, and not a flat tax), the revenues so collected might just open up opportunities to transform our urbs and suburbs. Private companies could be asked to bid to maintain lake bodies and stretches of rivers for an annual fee. Bidders indicate the extent to which they intend to protect the public resource, penalty acceptable in case of default, and their bid. The evaluation committee comprised of community members, officials, and environmentalists would evaluate bids while cognizant of tax revenues and the degree of environmental protection desired. The low/lowest bidder is then handed charge of the public resource for which it is paid regularly following a certification of compliance by a committee constituted of government officials, environmental and community activists. The private firm will zealously guard the resource to ensure its revenue stream and its survival in the environmental protection market. It could invoke police action on illegal garbage dumpers and sue them in court. It could, conceivably, even dam sewage flowing in to the river in its jurisdiction, forcing the upstream authority to resolve the environmental problem or pay up. Sounds impractical? Grow up. Such innovative, if draconian measures, just might be what the doctor ordered to reverse the tide of degradation of our 'environment commons'. (unless, of course, you prefer plague and other air- and water-borne communicable afflictions permeating in our schools)

Where there is a will, there is a way.