UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India’s rarest heron faces a silent end as new dam ignores its home

Question 1

With respect to the surviving range of the white-bellied heron (Ardea insignis) in India today, consider the following rivers:
1. Noa-Dehing River
2. Lahm River
3. Lohit River
4. Teesta River
Which of the above are correctly identified as river systems that hold India's present-day white-bellied heron population?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 4 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4 only

Answer

1, 3 and 4 only

Question 2

On the IUCN Red List, the category 'Critically Endangered' — under which the white-bellied heron has been assessed since 2007 — denotes a taxon that:

Accepted Answer

faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

Answer

survives only in captivity or cultivation, having disappeared from its natural range

Answer

faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild

Answer

faces a high risk of extinction in the wild

Question 3

The Kalai-II project on the Lohit is described as a 'run-of-the-river' hydroelectric scheme. In this context, a run-of-the-river project is one that:

Accepted Answer

generates electricity using the natural flow of the river, with little or no water storage

Answer

impounds a large reservoir behind a high dam to store seasonal flows for regulated release

Answer

pumps water up to an upper reservoir during off-peak hours for later generation

Answer

permanently diverts the entire river into an underground tunnel, bypassing the channel

Question 4

The controversy over the Kalai-II clearance centres on the fact that the project threatens the single most important Indian site for the white-bellied heron, holding roughly 70% of the country's population. Which one of the following is that site?

Accepted Answer

Lohit river basin (including the Lahm tributary)

Answer

Namdapha National Park

Answer

Noa-Dehing river basin

Answer

Subansiri river basin

Question 5

The Forest Advisory Committee, which granted in-principle clearance to the Kalai-II project, is a statutory body constituted under which one of the following laws?

Accepted Answer

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

Answer

Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

Answer

Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972

Answer

Biological Diversity Act, 2002

Question 6

Consider the following statements comparing the stages of forest clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980:
1. 'In-principle' (Stage-I) approval is granted with conditions and precedes the 'final' (Stage-II) approval, which follows compliance.
2. Compensatory afforestation normally requires non-forest land equal in area to the diverted forest; where non-forest land is unavailable, degraded forest land of twice the area may be used.
3. Both Stage-I and Stage-II approvals are granted by the Forest Advisory Committee itself.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 7

Under the compensatory afforestation norms, which one of the following is the preferred (first-choice) category of land for raising compensatory afforestation against diverted forest?

Accepted Answer

Non-forest land equal in area, preferably contiguous to the forest being diverted

Answer

Degraded forest land of twice the area, located anywhere in the country

Answer

Revenue wasteland selected by the user agency in any other state of its choice

Answer

Land lying within a notified wildlife sanctuary or national park

Question 8

Consider the following statements about compensatory afforestation as it applies to the Kalai-II clearance:
1. The compensatory afforestation funds have statutory backing under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016.
2. The land selected for compensatory afforestation should preferably be contiguous to the forest being diverted.
3. For the Kalai-II project, compensatory afforestation was approved in Madhya Pradesh, far from the impacted habitat.
4. The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 mandates that compensatory afforestation must always be carried out within the same district as the diverted forest.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

3 and 4 only

Answer

2 and 4 only

Question 9

The Lohit River, on which the Kalai-II project is proposed, is the easternmost tributary of the Brahmaputra. Near Sadiya in Assam, the Lohit unites with which one of the following rivers to form the Brahmaputra?

Accepted Answer

Siang

Answer

Subansiri

Answer

Teesta

Answer

Barak

Question 10

The white-bellied heron is listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. Schedule I is significant because it:

Accepted Answer

provides the highest degree of protection, with the most stringent penalties for offences

Answer

permits regulated hunting of the listed species under licence during specified seasons

Answer

lists species treated as vermin that may be hunted freely without permit

Answer

covers only specified plants and their derivatives, not animals

Question 11

Consider the following statements comparing two of India's critically endangered birds:
1. The white-bellied heron has a global population of fewer than 60 confirmed individuals.
2. The Great Indian Bustard's population in India is estimated at around 130 individuals.
3. Both the white-bellied heron and the Great Indian Bustard are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
4. The largest population of the Great Indian Bustard survives in the grasslands of Gujarat.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

3 and 4 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3 only

Question 12

Amid the Northeast's hydropower push that has repeatedly clashed with biodiversity concerns, which one of the following Arunachal Pradesh projects is envisaged as India's tallest dam and is currently being advanced by the government?

Accepted Answer

Dibang Multipurpose Project

Answer

Kalai-II Hydroelectric Project

Answer

Etalin Hydroelectric Project

Answer

Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India’s rarest heron faces a silent end as new dam ignores its home

Q2. On the IUCN Red List, the category 'Critically Endangered' — under which the white-bellied heron has been assessed since 2007 — denotes a taxon that:

Q3. The Kalai-II project on the Lohit is described as a 'run-of-the-river' hydroelectric scheme. In this context, a run-of-the-river project is one that:

Q4. The controversy over the Kalai-II clearance centres on the fact that the project threatens the single most important Indian site for the white-bellied heron, holding roughly 70% of the country's population. Which one of the following is that site?

Q5. The Forest Advisory Committee, which granted in-principle clearance to the Kalai-II project, is a statutory body constituted under which one of the following laws?

Q7. Under the compensatory afforestation norms, which one of the following is the preferred (first-choice) category of land for raising compensatory afforestation against diverted forest?

Q9. The Lohit River, on which the Kalai-II project is proposed, is the easternmost tributary of the Brahmaputra. Near Sadiya in Assam, the Lohit unites with which one of the following rivers to form the Brahmaputra?

Q10. The white-bellied heron is listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. Schedule I is significant because it:

Q12. Amid the Northeast's hydropower push that has repeatedly clashed with biodiversity concerns, which one of the following Arunachal Pradesh projects is envisaged as India's tallest dam and is currently being advanced by the government?