Abstract: Environmental compliance in the fast developing countries has been an area of interest for researchers to find out how sustainable growth can be achieved without compromising on environment. In India, agencies responsible for enforcement of environmental laws are resource scarce and juxtaposing this with the pace of industrial development, it raises serious concerns about how effective enforcement of environmental laws can be managed. This paper analyses the effectiveness of various remedies available for ensuring environmental compliance. The methodology included identification of remedies available for ensuring environmental compliance, identification of parameters for measuring their effectiveness and then selecting a few cases for detailed study. The analysis suggests that the powers delegated to State Pollution Control Board for issuing closure directions to polluting industries is the most effective remedy and has been resorted to the maximum by Pollution Control Boards in the recent past. However, complete reliance on this remedy by regulatory institutions may lead to ‘rent seeking.’
