Impact of Sand Mining and Distillery Effluent Pollution in the River Basin

Abstract

This study is a modest attempt to estimate the economic impact of sand mining and distillery effluent pollution in The North Pinakini river basin of Karnataka in India. Irrigation wells in the riparian areas of the river basin are continuously threatened due to indiscriminate sand mining depleting groundwater table. Farmers with irrigation wells here are suffering from the predicament of poor or no groundwater recharge. Negative externalities due to sand mining coupled with distillery effluent pollution are resulting in inefficiency and welfare loss. The estimated negative externality per irrigation well in sand mining area is INR 4763 that in sand mining and distillery effluent pollution area is INR 8325, while in area unaffected by this predicament is INR 2236 per year with the well failure being 28, 38 and 13 percent respectively. Besides in effluent polluted area, an additional human health expenditure of INR 1423 and additional animal health expenditure of INR 841.13 per year per farm were incurred.The externality correcting charge to be imposed is INR 555 per truckload of sand and INR 0.90 per litre of rectified spirit for compensating the affected. In addition, It is desired that the State Pollution Control Board and the State Department of Mines and Geology will rescue affected farmers and humans in the study area by framing effective institutions, imposing externality correcting charge to discipline both sand miners and distillery effluent polluters and save the precious groundwater resource from depletion and degradation.