Water Pollution in India : An Economic Appraisal

In a report by M.N. Murty and Surender Kumar (2011) it is mentioned that "Lack of water, sanitation, and hygiene results in the loss of 0.4 million lives while air pollution contributes to the death of 0.52 million people annually in India (WHO2007). Environmental factors contribute to 60 years of ill-health per 1,000 population in India compared to 54 in Russia, 37 in Brazil, and 34 in China. The socio-economic costs of water pollution are extremely high: 1.5 million children under 5 years die each year due to water related diseases, 200 million person days of work are lost each year, and the country loses about Rs 366 billion each year due to water related diseases (Parikh 2004)".
McKenzie and Ray (2004) also observed similar eff ects of water pollution; however, the magnitude of the eff ect was modest. The study shows that India loses 90 million days a year due to water borne diseases with production losses and treatment costs worth Rs 6 billion. Poor water quality, sanitation, and hygiene result in the loss of 30.5 million disabilities adjusted life years (DALY) in India. Please read full article by authors.