NEW DELHI: Researchers from the University of Chicago and Harvard Kennedy School have released five policy recommendations for air pollution control in India. Key among them is imposing monetary charges or an environment protection tax to keep industries in compliance with air pollution norms.

Researchers associated with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) India conducted studies highlighting lapses with implementing of pollution control norms for industries. For example, in Maharashtra , over 13,200 regulatory pollution tests conducted between September 2012 and February 2018 but over half the samples were found to be more than the air pollution standards.

Another study found that regulatory inspections of industries in Gujarat were a failure, 59% of the industrial plants whose audits were back-checked by an independent audit agency were found to be polluting above the standard. Researchers noted in the report, “Indian environmental laws rely on criminal penalties to keep industries in compliance. Command and control regulations can be costly because state pollution control boards can only enforce laws using blunt tools of plant closures and investment hold-ups. These penalties are harsh and cannot be applied in proportion to the degree of the environmental offense.”

