When the official system learns to loot the official treasury, it also targets the natural estate, the biggest property of the modern state. Good environmental management demands effective regulation to bring about a balance between environment and development. But corruption makes it extremely difficult to implement environmental laws that aim to control polluters. It is therefore not surprising that India's urban air and water are today extremely polluted despite the existence of numerous laws and official institutions to protect them. Tales of timber and wildlife smuggling abound in the media. ANIL AGARWAL and SUNITA NARAIN examine how corruption gnaws at the vitals of the Indian environment, a review being published to support environmentalist and social worker Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption