Incentives Matter for Depolluting Rivers: The Case of the Ganga

Abstract

India’s Environment is in a poor state. Even its sacred river, the Ganga, is plagued with over-pollution. Some actions were taken since the 1980s but none were entirely successful. It will be argued in this article that looking at the incentive structure laid down by environmental regulation could explain most of the failure while also offering some insights on how to improve things. More especially private enforcement will appear as an option to the failures of public enforcement.