UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC calls on students to school elders in waste management
Q1. Under the environmental compensation framework of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, the Central Implementation Committee that has been required to prepare guidelines for imposing and collecting such compensation is headed by which one of the following?
- A. The Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
- B. The Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
- C. The Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board
- D. The Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal, Principal Bench
Q2. Consider the following statements regarding the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 as compared with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016:
1. The 2026 Rules supersede the 2016 Rules and come into full effect from April 1, 2026.
2. A bulk waste generator under the 2026 Rules includes an entity with a built-up area above 20,000 square metres, or water consumption above 40,000 litres per day, or waste generation above 100 kg per day.
3. Unlike the 2016 Rules, the 2026 Rules do away with any environmental compensation mechanism and rely solely on criminal prosecution of defaulting entities.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The 2026 Rules supersede the 2016 Rules and come into full effect from April 1, 2026.
- A bulk waste generator under the 2026 Rules includes an entity with a built-up area above 20,000 square metres, or water consumption above 40,000 litres per day, or waste generation above 100 kg per day.
- Unlike the 2016 Rules, the 2026 Rules do away with any environmental compensation mechanism and rely solely on criminal prosecution of defaulting entities.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. In its August 2026 order calling for schoolchildren to be involved in educating households against careless generation of garbage, the Supreme Court enumerated the categories of waste that households and institutions generate. How many such categories did the Court enumerate?
- A. Three
- B. Four
- C. Five
- D. Six
Q4. The Supreme Court order of August 18, 2026 holding that treating solid waste as the responsibility of sanitary workers alone is 'constitutionally unethical', and directing that students be used to educate elders on waste management, was passed by a Bench headed by which one of the following judges?
- A. Justice Pankaj Mithal
- B. Justice S.V.N. Bhatti
- C. Justice B.R. Gavai
- D. Justice Abhay S. Oka
Q5. Under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, every waste generator is required to segregate waste at source into how many distinct streams for handover to the collection system?
- A. Three
- B. Four
- C. Five
- D. Six
Q6. The Solid Waste Management Rules of 2016, and the Rules of 2026 that superseded them, have been notified in exercise of powers conferred by which one of the following statutes?
- A. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
- B. The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010
- C. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
- D. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
Q7. As the Constitution of India stands today, Article 51A enumerates how many Fundamental Duties of citizens?
- A. Nine
- B. Ten
- C. Eleven
- D. Twelve
Q8. Clause (g) of Article 51A of the Constitution of India casts on every citizen which one of the following duties?
- A. To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures
- B. To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform in matters of public and civic concern
- C. To safeguard public property, to abjure violence and to preserve the composite culture of the country
- D. To provide opportunities for education to one's child or ward between the ages of six and fourteen years
Q9. Consider the following statements regarding the Supreme Court's continuing supervision of solid waste management during 2026:
1. By its order of February 2026, the Court required district collectors to audit solid waste management systems and report the gaps identified to the Chief Secretaries of their States.
2. By a subsequent order in May 2026, the Court delegated enforcement powers to district collectors for one year, including the power to stop water and electricity connections to non-compliant bulk waste generators.
3. In its August 2026 judgment in Amravati Municipal Corporation vs Ganesh Dadarao Anasane, the Court held that environmental compensation must be punitive in character rather than restitutionary.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- By its order of February 2026, the Court required district collectors to audit solid waste management systems and report the gaps identified to the Chief Secretaries of their States.
- By a subsequent order in May 2026, the Court delegated enforcement powers to district collectors for one year, including the power to stop water and electricity connections to non-compliant bulk waste generators.
- In its August 2026 judgment in Amravati Municipal Corporation vs Ganesh Dadarao Anasane, the Court held that environmental compensation must be punitive in character rather than restitutionary.
- A. 1 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 2 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q10. As conceived by the Supreme Court in August 2026 while directing a structured regime under Rule 17 of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, the levy imposed on defaulting entities is best described as which one of the following?
- A. A flat statutory penalty at rates fixed by the Union Government, credited to the Consolidated Fund of India and payable irrespective of the extent of harm caused
- B. A restitutionary charge that continues until the damage is restored, calibrated to restoration cost, actual and imminent harm, and the financial capacity of the defaulter
- C. An amount payable by the State to residents living in the vicinity of a dumpsite as damages for injury to health and property
- D. A refundable security deposit furnished by processing facilities at the time of obtaining consent to operate, forfeited only on closure of the facility
Q11. Consider the following statements about the institutional framework for solid waste management in India:
1. The Central Pollution Control Board is a statutory body constituted under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
2. Under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, environmental compensation from non-compliant entities is collected by the State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees.
3. The centralised online portal for registration of bulk waste generators, local bodies, processing facilities and landfill sites under the 2026 Rules is operated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
4. The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 were notified by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which is the nodal ministry for urban sanitation.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- The Central Pollution Control Board is a statutory body constituted under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
- Under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, environmental compensation from non-compliant entities is collected by the State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees.
- The centralised online portal for registration of bulk waste generators, local bodies, processing facilities and landfill sites under the 2026 Rules is operated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
- The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 were notified by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which is the nodal ministry for urban sanitation.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 3 and 4
- C. 2 and 4
- D. 1, 2 and 4
Q12. Central share assistance to States and Union Territories for setting up waste-to-compost plants, bio-methanation plants and material recovery facilities, and for remediation of legacy waste dumpsites in cities under Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, is released by which one of the following?
- A. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India
- B. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India
- C. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti
- D. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India