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Polluting Tanneries and Small Farmers in Kanpur, India: A Theoretical Analysis

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Abstract

We focus on the interaction between a representative polluting tannery and a negatively impacted small farmer in Kanpur, India. The tannery produces leather and toxic chemical waste that ends up in wastewater used by the small farmer to irrigate agricultural land and grow vegetables. The waste generated by the tannery is functionally related to its output of leather. The small farmer faces a capacity constraint that describes the maximum amount of vegetables he can grow. In this setting, we perform three tasks. First, we determine the optimal production of leather when the tannery does not account for the negative effect it has on the small farmer. Second, on the assumption that the tannery compensates the small farmer per unit of waste it generates, we ascertain the optimal compensation amount, the optimal output of leather, and the profit levels of the tannery and the small farmer. Finally, we compare the solutions in the preceding two cases and explain what accounts for the differences between them.

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Data Availability

This is a theoretical paper and no data, other than numerical data, were used to obtain the results described. Hence, a data availability statement is not applicable.

Code Availability

No code was used to either write or obtain the results described in the paper. Therefore, a code availability statement is not applicable.

Notes

  1. Go to https://mahileather.com/blogs/news/the-world-s-most-famous-leather-markets for a more detailed discussion of this point. Accessed on 22 November 2021.

  2. Dhillon [17] notes that 32,000 bodies are cremated every year in Varanasi and that this process results in 300 tons of ash and 200 tons of half burnt human flesh being deposited into the Ganges.

  3. The government of Uttar Pradesh periodically takes “stern” actions such as closing down some tanneries in Kanpur in advance of important events such as the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj (formerly known as Allahabad) but these actions have had little, long-term impact on reducing the discharge of toxic pollutants into the Ganges. See Anonymous [18] for additional details on this point.

  4. The scenario described here is very common in the Kanpur area. Go to https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/india-toxic-price-leather for a more detailed discussion of this point. Accessed on 26 August 2022.

  5. The second-order sufficiency condition is satisfied.

  6. The second-order sufficieny condition is satisfied.

  7. The second-order sufficiency conditions are satisfied.

  8. Go to https://elaw.org/content/india-mc-mehta-v-union-india-wp-37271985-19880112-tanneries-case-kanpur for additional details on this point. Accessed on 26 August 2022.

  9. Go to https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/ngt-slaps-rs-280-cr-fine-on-22-tanneries-in-kanpur-for-dumping-chromium-into-ganga-119111801169_1.html for more details on this point. Accessed on 26 August 2022.

  10. See Cosgrove and Loucks [19] for a more elaborate discussion of research needs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Editor-in-Chief, an Advisory Editor, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on a previous version of this paper. The usual disclaimer applies.

Funding

Batabyal acknowledges financial support from the Gosnell endowment at RIT.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology, 92 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY, 14623-5604, USA

    Amitrajeet A. Batabyal

  2. Open University, Heerlen, The Netherlands

    Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp

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  1. Amitrajeet A. Batabyal
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  2. Karima Kourtit
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  3. Peter Nijkamp
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the conceptualization of the ideas contained in this paper. Amitrajeet A. Batabyal was primarily responsible for model development and analysis. He also wrote the first draft of the paper. Karima Kourtit and Peter Nijkamp contributed equally to checking the first draft, adding text as necessary, providing new references as necessary, and rewriting the first draft. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Amitrajeet A. Batabyal.

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Batabyal, A.A., Kourtit, K. & Nijkamp, P. Polluting Tanneries and Small Farmers in Kanpur, India: A Theoretical Analysis. Environ Model Assess 28, 331–336 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-022-09865-y

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