Estimating the value of improved wastewater treatment: The case of River Ganga, India

This paper employs a stated preference environmental valuation method, namely the choice experiment method, to estimate local public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for improvements in the capacity of a sewage treatment plant (STP) in Chandernagore Municipality, located on the banks of the River Ganga. A pilot choice experiment study is conducted with 100 randomly selected Chandernagore residents and the data are analysed using the conditional logit model. The results reveal that residents of this municipality are WTP significant amounts in terms of higher monthly municipality taxes, in order to upgrade the capacity of the current STP to one that treats higher quantities of wastewater and at a higher quality, before discarding in the Ganga. With the use of the benefits transfer method, the results of this case study can provide information on the economic benefits that might be generated through the improvement of STPs in other similar municipalities located along the banks of the Ganga. Overall, the results reported in this paper have important policy implications for reducing pollution, and hence environmental and health risks that are currently threatening the sustainability of the economic, cultural and religious values this sacred river generates.