Explanation
- A
Constitutional reforms
Constitutional reforms are the domain of bodies such as the Punchhi or Sarkaria Commissions, not Gadgil or Kasturirangan. This option is not the key.
- B
Ganga Action Plan
The Ganga Action Plan and later Namami Gange are river-cleaning programmes. Neither committee is a Ganga report. This option is wrong.
- C
Linking of rivers
Interlinking of rivers is associated with the National Water Development Agency and political debates on ILR, not with these two reports. This option is not the key.
- D
Protection of Western Ghats
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (Madhav Gadgil, 2011) and the High-Level Working Group (K. Kasturirangan, 2013) both addressed protection of the Western Ghats as an ESA. That is why (d) is the official key.
Summary. Official key is (d) protection of Western Ghats. Gadgil recommended treating the entire Ghats as an ecologically sensitive zone with graded ESZ 1–3 and a statutory Western Ghats Ecology Authority. Kasturirangan narrowed the ESA to a smaller share of villages, which States found more acceptable. Both reports are about Ghats conservation, not the Constitution, Ganga or river linking. The tension between the two remains a standard environment question.
Same topic · past papers
UPSC has asked this before
These previous-year questions sit on the same topic. Open one to practise the earlier ask.
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2017 · Q6 · General Studies · 2 marks
Consider the following statements in respect of Trade Related Analysis of Fauna and Flora in Commerce (TRAFFIC): 1. TRAFFIC is a bureau under United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 2. The mission of TRAFFIC is to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. Which of the above statements is/are correct? -
2024 · Q74 · General Studies · 2 marks
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