UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — NGT takes note of The Hindu report on toxic water

Q1. With reference to the power of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to take up matters on its own (suo motu), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. The NGT may start proceedings without any application when a civil dispute raises a substantial question relating to environment under the enactments listed in Schedule I of its Act.
2. Once acting suo motu, the NGT may take up any question of public health, even one unconnected with the enactments listed in Schedule I of its Act.
3. The suo motu power is expressly conferred by a provision of the NGT Act, a position the Union Government itself argued before the Supreme Court.

• A. 2 and 3 only
• B. 1, 2 and 3
• C. 1 and 2 only
• D. 1 only

Q2. Consider the following facts: The National Green Tribunal took up a matter on its own on the basis of a newspaper report about hexavalent chromium in groundwater, and no application was filed by any person. It recorded that the report raised substantial issues of compliance with environmental norms, issued notices to fourteen authorities including the State Government, the National Mission for Clean Ganga and a medical institute, and asked them to file affidavits before the next hearing. Consider the following inferences: Which of the inferences given above can validly be drawn?

1. Naming a medical institute as a respondent shows that the Tribunal has assumed jurisdiction over cases of medical negligence.
2. The Tribunal can continue with the matter even if no affected resident ever joins the proceedings as a party.
3. Every authority served with notice has thereby been held responsible for causing the contamination.
4. By calling for affidavits before passing final orders, the Tribunal is giving the authorities an opportunity to be heard.

• A. 2, 3 and 4 only
• B. 2 and 4 only
• C. 1, 2 and 4 only
• D. 1 and 3 only

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. Chromium leaching from dumps of chrome-tanning waste is far more likely to travel through aquifers to distant wells when it is in the hexavalent state than when it is in the trivalent state.
2. Hexavalent chromium compounds are soluble and mobile in soil and water, whereas trivalent chromium tends to precipitate and bind strongly to mineral and organic surfaces.

• A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
• B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
• C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
• D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. With reference to chromium in drinking water, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. Because trivalent chromium is regarded as a trace nutrient, the toxicity of chromium in drinking water does not depend on its oxidation state.
2. A measurement of total chromium in water counts both the trivalent and the hexavalent forms, although the health hazard arises mainly from the hexavalent form.

• A. 1 only
• B. 2 only
• C. Both 1 and 2
• D. Neither 1 nor 2

Q5. Authorities plan to inject a chemical reducing agent into an aquifer contaminated with hexavalent chromium. If the treatment works as intended, which one of the following is the most likely outcome?

• A. Chromium changes into a more soluble form that flowing groundwater flushes out of the aquifer faster.
• B. Chromium changes into a volatile form that escapes from the groundwater into the atmosphere above.
• C. Chromium changes into a less toxic form that tends to settle out of water and bind to the soil.
• D. Chromium is broken down by the reagent into carbon dioxide, water and other harmless mineral salts.

Q6. Suppose a drinking-water standard caps chromium at 0.05 mg/L, measured as total chromium (trivalent plus hexavalent), and only the hexavalent form is of serious health concern. Consider the following inferences: Which of the inferences given above is/are valid?

1. Water that meets this standard cannot contain more than 0.05 mg/L of hexavalent chromium.
2. Water that fails this standard must contain more than 0.05 mg/L of hexavalent chromium.
3. Water can fail this standard even when its hexavalent chromium content alone is below 0.05 mg/L.

• A. 1 and 3 only
• B. 1, 2 and 3
• C. 1 only
• D. 2 and 3 only

Q7. Several units that manufactured a chrome-tanning chemical were shut down by the State Pollution Control Board for violating hazardous-waste rules. Years later, environmental compensation was levied on them for the contamination caused by their waste. In the light of the polluter-pays principle as applied in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. The closure of a unit does not extinguish its liability for environmental damage caused by its past operations.
2. Levying compensation for past violations serves, in part, to ensure that violating environmental norms does not turn out to be profitable.
3. The polluter's liability extends to the cost of restoring the damaged environment and is not limited only to compensating affected persons.

• A. 1, 2 and 3
• B. 1 and 2 only
• C. 1 and 3 only
• D. 2 and 3 only

Q8. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. The National Green Tribunal is required under its parent statute to apply the polluter-pays principle, along with the precautionary principle and sustainable development, while deciding cases.
2. Decisions of the National Green Tribunal are final, and no appeal against them lies before any court.

• A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
• B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
• C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
• D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct