Introduction

Polluter Pays Principle is a globally well recognized and much celebrated environmental law
principle. The primary function of the Principle is that it helps in allocating the costs and
repairing the damage, between different stakeholders, for the harm caused by them to the
environment. The principle is also revolutionary in the sense that it places the responsibility of
paying the damages to the persons who ought to pay it and also who have the ability to pay it.

In other words, the 'polluter pays' principle is the commonly accepted practice that those who
produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or
the environment. For instance, a factory that produces a potentially poisonous substance as a
by-product of its activities is usually held responsible for its safe disposal.

With the rapid development of technology and industries, environmental degradation is

inevitable and dealing with it becomes vital for human existence. The problem escalates when
economic aspects of dealing with it become dominant, and the polluters pay principle helps in
dealing with the later. The polluter pays principle make economic sense. The strict
implementation of the principle, which can change the situation to a very large extent.

This principle can be seen and analysed both as a principle of environmental economics and as
a principle of environmental law. In environmental economics, it is discussed as an efficiency
principle of internalization of environmental costs. As a legal principle, it is usually treated as
a principle for the allocation of the cost of pollution prevention, and for liability and
compensation for environmental damage. In general, it is regarded as an important and ‘right’
principle in the perspective of environmental protection. It is often mentioned together with
other major environmental principles such as the precautionary principle, the principle of
prevention and the principle of integration.

In general, it is regarded as an important and ‘right’ principle in the perspective of

environmental protection. It is often mentioned together with other major environmental
principles such as the precautionary principle, the principle of prevention and the principle of
integration.