UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — How will the Supreme Court order impact mining around Ramsar wetland sites?

Question 1

The wetland conservation reserve in whose vicinity the Supreme Court first imposed a 10-km mining restriction was included in the Ramsar List in which year, and lies in which State?

Accepted Answer

2020, in the State of Uttarakhand, at the confluence of the Asan and Yamuna rivers

Answer

2012, in the State of Uttarakhand, at the confluence of two Himalayan rivers

Answer

2020, in the State of Himachal Pradesh, on the upper reaches of the Beas river

Answer

2024, in the State of Uttarakhand, on the Ganga–Yamuna interfluve near Haridwar

Question 2

With reference to the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve, consider the following:
1. It lies at the confluence of the Asan and Yamuna rivers.
2. It is notified as a conservation reserve, a protected-area category inserted into the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 by amendment.
3. It lies within the boundaries of the Kamlang Tiger Reserve.
4. It entered the Ramsar List in the same year as Glaw Lake, the first Ramsar site of Arunachal Pradesh.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2

Answer

1 and 3

Answer

2 and 4

Answer

1, 2 and 4

Question 3

With reference to the Ramsar Convention, consider the following statements:
1. It was adopted at Ramsar, Iran, in 1971 and entered into force in 1972.
2. The Montreux Record is a register of listed wetlands where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring or are likely to occur.
3. It was concluded under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
4. UNESCO acts as the Depositary of the Convention.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 3

Answer

2 and 4

Answer

3 only

Answer

1, 3 and 4

Question 4

As of August 2026, how many Indian wetlands stand included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance?

Accepted Answer

101

Answer

64

Answer

80

Answer

85

Question 5

With reference to the National Board for Wild Life (NBWL) and its Standing Committee, consider the following:
1. The Prime Minister is the Chairperson of the National Board for Wild Life.
2. The Union Minister in charge of Environment and Forests is its Vice-Chairperson.
3. The Standing Committee comprises the Vice-Chairperson, the Member-Secretary and not more than ten members nominated by the Vice-Chairperson from amongst the members of the Board.
4. The Board owes its existence to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4 only

Answer

1, 2 and 4 only

Question 6

With reference to the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life, consider the following:
1. It appraises proposals for development projects located in and around protected areas, tiger reserves and eco-sensitive zones.
2. It is chaired by the Prime Minister, who also chairs the National Board itself.
3. It designates India's wetlands as Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.
4. It is a statutory body owing its constitution to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4

Answer

2 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 7

Under the Supreme Court's interim order of 14 February 2024, mining within the 10-km radius around the Asan reserve may proceed only with the prior approval of which authority?

Accepted Answer

The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life and/or the MoEFCC

Answer

The State Wetlands Authority constituted under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017

Answer

The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal, on a reference by the State Pollution Control Board

Answer

The Indian Bureau of Mines, acting under the Ministry of Mines and the MMDR Act, 1957

Question 8

Which one of the following was the principal legal effect of the Supreme Court's direction of 14 February 2024 in the Asan matter?

Accepted Answer

It made mining within a 10-km radius of the reserve conditional on prior clearance, by way of an interim direction

Answer

It finally and permanently prohibited every form of mining within 10 km of all Ramsar sites in the country

Answer

It declared, as a Constitution Bench, that all wetland conservation reserves are eco-sensitive zones under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

Answer

It permitted mining anywhere beyond the notified boundary of the reserve without any further clearance whatsoever

Question 9

The 2026 clarification that the 10-km mining restriction extends to all notified wetland conservation reserves across India came from which forum?

Accepted Answer

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, with Justice Joymalya Bagchi

Answer

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India B. R. Gavai, which had earlier restricted mining near protected areas

Answer

A three-judge Bench presided over by Justice Joymalya Bagchi as the senior-most judge on it

Answer

The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal at New Delhi, on an application by the Union Government

Question 10

Before the Supreme Court, the Himachal Pradesh government argued that wetland conservation reserves differ from national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in that the former lack which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

A statutorily contemplated buffer or eco-sensitive belt extending beyond their notified boundaries

Answer

A management plan prepared and approved by the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State concerned

Answer

Any recognition as 'protected areas' under a central law dealing with the protection of wildlife

Answer

Any restriction on the hunting or capture of wild animals found within their notified boundaries

Question 11

Consider the following pairs of a legal category or measure and the instrument it flows from:
1. Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 — the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972
2. Community reserve declared over private or community land outside a national park, sanctuary or conservation reserve — the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972
3. Prohibition on dumping of solid waste in a notified wetland — the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017
4. Constitution of State and Union Territory Wetlands Authorities — the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017
Which of the pairs given above is/are NOT correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

1 only

Answer

3 and 4

Answer

2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4

Question 12

With reference to the 2026 Supreme Court proceedings on mining near wetland conservation reserves, consider the following:
1. The application seeking that the Asan direction not be applied to it was moved by the Government of Himachal Pradesh.
2. The Court directed the Union Government and the National Board for Wild Life first to ascertain whether wetland conservation reserves exist in a given State before the 10-km restriction is applied there.
3. The Court accepted the plea that the direction cannot travel outside the State in which the reserve lies, and confined it to Uttarakhand.
4. The clarification extends the restriction to all notified wetland conservation reserves across the country.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

3 only

Answer

1 and 3

Answer

2 and 3

Answer

3 and 4

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — How will the Supreme Court order impact mining around Ramsar wetland sites?

Q1. The wetland conservation reserve in whose vicinity the Supreme Court first imposed a 10-km mining restriction was included in the Ramsar List in which year, and lies in which State?

Q4. As of August 2026, how many Indian wetlands stand included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance?

Q7. Under the Supreme Court's interim order of 14 February 2024, mining within the 10-km radius around the Asan reserve may proceed only with the prior approval of which authority?

Q8. Which one of the following was the principal legal effect of the Supreme Court's direction of 14 February 2024 in the Asan matter?

Q9. The 2026 clarification that the 10-km mining restriction extends to all notified wetland conservation reserves across India came from which forum?

Q10. Before the Supreme Court, the Himachal Pradesh government argued that wetland conservation reserves differ from national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in that the former lack which one of the following?