Tax to punish?

MJ Antony makes a case against Madhya Pradesh Motor Karadhan Adhiniyam which imposes a tax of Rs 1500 a seat a month on motor vehicles without permits, and those that run on unauthorised routes or make authorised trips, saying that there is a distinction between fees and taxes. And that taxes should not be used as a penalty.

What about taxes on polluters? It's also tax as a penalty; tax as a fee for negative externalities, is it not? Your thoughts.

Here is an interesting news, by the way, also from BS

In a novel way to check factories from flushing waste into a river, it has now been made mandatory for industrial units in the Baddi and Barotiwala industrial towns of Himachal Pradesh to build fish ponds.

The treated waste water flowing out from each factory in these towns will now have to flow into a fish pond. And only if fish survive in that water will it be allowed to flow into the nearby Sarsa river.

I know i am being cynical, but i wonder how scientific it is, and if it will have any unintended consequences. Some questions: First of all, what about the dilution that takes place once the treated water flows into the river? Then, are there some kind of fishes which are more resistant to pollution than others? Suppose fishes can survive polluted water for lets say two three days, Will we be seeing a story sometime in the future that fish sales go up in Baddi and Barotiwala, say every 15th because that's around the date when PCB guys come to check?

Heard about rat farms? I dont know how true the story is, but when a state government wanted to eradicate rats and offered to give money for every rat that was pelted, people in that area actually started rat farms!