OPEN TEXT BASED ASSESSMENT- SUMMATIVE EXAMINATION –II,
MARCH 2014
THEME II - Environment and Development-Lessons from the Hills
ANSWER KEY
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Ecologist
Earth quake
Land slide
It enables to evacuate the place much earlier than the hit so that its effect on
human and his belongings can be reduced. It enables to take necessary precautions by
the authorities to minimize the effect of the disaster.
Rain guage
Tourism without upsetting the existing balance in nature at a place.
The organization and management dealing with and avoiding both natural and man-made
disaster.
a) Cutting trees.
b) Building roads for promoting tourism.
c) Setting up industries
d) Constructing hydro electric power plants
e) Urbanisation.
9. a) It clears thousands of ha of land including forest.
b) It displaces a large number of people for whom the forest was a source of livelihood.
c) The area becomes vulnerable to landslides due to seepage of water.
d) It destroys unlimited number of animal and plants species
10. Cloud burst is an extreme amount of precipitation sometimes with hail and thunder which
normally lasts no longer than a few minutes, but capable of creating flash flood.
It occurs when a pregnant monsoon cloud drift northwards from Bay of Bengal or Arabian
sea across the plains there on to the Himalaya and hit the mountain or it occurs when hot
water vapour mingle with cold water vapour resulting in sudden condensation.
It can cause heavy down pour in a small area and cause flood
11. When hydel power plants are constructed in regions which have poor soil stability like
hill slopes, infiltration of too much of water causes landslides at weaker regions.
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12. The development of hydel power project should always be done with great planning and
resource to prevent disasters. In order to build 244 hydel power projects about 14072 ha
of forests have been cleared. The region thus became vulnerable to landslides. Also this
displaced a large number of local peoples for whom the forests were a source of livelihood.
These have also been reports to say that a large part of the power that is generated is lost
during transmission. This raises a question on the effectiveness of these hydro power
projects. A report commissioned by Union Environment and Forest Ministry in May 2012
had warned the centre against going ahead with 24 hydro power projects plant on the
Alakananda and Bhagirathi river systems in Uttarakand it stated that the projects would
destroy 22% of states forest land and affect the unique Himalayan ecology along 1/3rd of
the two main tributaries of Ganga.
13. We can blame ourselves by the activities like constructions, mining, hydropower
projections etc.
14. a) control tourists
b) Reduce debris disposal
c) Hydropower projects need to be built with proper planning.
d) Enforcing environmental impact assessment.
15. The construction of hidel power projects involve blasting of hillside, excavation, debris
dumping, movement of heavy machineries and diversion of forest. The Himalayan region
has poor soil stability, prone to cloudburst, landslides and earthquakes. Any damage to
hydel power projects by earth quake would create flood like situation in many areas.
16. The horrific disaster that struck Uttrakhand has been assessed as a mix of natural and manmade reasons. Although cloudburst and landslides were the main causes of this disaster,
nature alone can’t be blamed for this unfortunate turn of events. Man has played an equal,
if not greater, role in this disaster. Poor disaster management infrastructure, lousy building
constructions, massive deforestation, erroneous agricultural practices on barren hill slopes,
unscientific road building and quarrying contributed to make this India’s worst flood
disaster.
17. Man has played an equal role in this disaster. Poor disaster management infrastructure,
lousy building constructions, massive deforestation, erroneous agricultural practices on
barren hill slopes, unscientific road building and quarrying contributed to make this India’s
worst flood disaster.
18. There were no warning systems in place, no weathering monitoring systems near the
major pilgrimage centres which saw a large number of tourists year after year. There do
not seem to be any rain-gauges at Kedarnath and Badrinath.
19. a) Regulating the number of tourists
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b) Regulating the quantity of organic and inorganic waste
c) Proper drainage system
d) Environmental impact assessment
e) Warning and weather monitoring system
20. It stated that the project would destroy 22% of the state forest land and affect the unique
Himalayan ecology along 1/3rd of lengths of the two main tributaries of Ganga.
21. a) Construction of new roads and bridges and broadening of the ones that already exist.
b) Building many hotels and guest houses to accommodate tourists
c) Building huge power projects to meet the growing demands of energy of the expanding
state
d) Dumping of huge quantities of organic and in-organic waste.
e) Deforestation for growing demands of space
f) Heavy traffic that pollute air and water, on fragile regions.
22. Intense rain fall in past three days, illegal construction and mining on the river
banks,1000% increase in vehicular traffic in 8 years, dumping of construction debris in the
river and the river banks, unscientific method of road construction, increasing number of
tourists and pilgrims, lack of weather forecast system.
23. a) Yes, by cutting down the forest and dynamiting the mountains for building roads and
hotels for promoting tourism will disturb the bio diversity.
 Erroneous agricultural practices on barren hills slopes
 1000% increase in vehicular traffic in last 8 years leading to land slide.
b) The decision to band tourism completely from this state is not correct. It will affect the
lively hood of local people who earned their bread and butter. Hence instead of banning the
tourism in the state we can reduced the number of tourist, proper debris disposal, the
tourist as well as a local people should be properly trained to face any natural disaster
without disturbing the nature.
24. The Army, Air Force, Navy, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Border Security Force,
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Public Works Department and local
administration worked together for quick rescue operations. Several thousand soldiers
were deployed for the rescue missions. Activists of political and social organizations were
also involved in the rescue and management of relief centers.
25. It is clear, however, that all economic activities have an impact on the environment,
towards which accelerated violations are recorded due to the uncontrolled use of natural
resources and to the destruction of wealth. The relationship between economic growth
and the environment has therefore abruptly changed with the rise of the industrial society,
the expansion of populations around the world, the intensity of trade, the brutal
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implementation of exploitation models of natural resources, and the needs of communities
that are becoming increasingly consuming.
26. a) Yes. To build 244 hydel power plants about 15072 ha of forest have been cleared
causing deforestation of the region became vulnerable to landslides. A large number of
local people got displaced losing their livelihood. Out of 244 power projects 62 in
Pithoragash, 57 in Chamouli, 42 in Uttar Kashi and 23 in Tehri Garhwal clearly indicate that
poor planning and management are one of the major causes of the disaster.
b) About 244 hydro power projects were constructed in Uttarakhand in the last few years
to cater the energy demands. The debris of the construction works was dumped on the
banks of rivers instead of their proper disposal. This made the rivers shallow, causing
floods in the rivers after the sudden cloudburst.
27. Authorities need to learn lesson from this devastation and revise their concept of
development in the hills. The following steps should be taken for the same.
a) Necessary guidelines and action plan for tourist/pilgrimage places, hotels, and lodges
should be developed.
b) Enhance the monitoring of ecosystem with a special focus on glaciers and their impact
on the river system in the region.
c) Adequate drainage system on the roads and bridges of hilly areas, to fight with such
natural calamities.
d) Rainfall monitoring stations should be established near all the temples located on the
high Himalayan hills.
e) Promotion of garbage disposal and proper sanitation facilities in order to make the
environment at such holy sites healthy.
f) People should be prepared for such disasters ie, enlarging people’s awareness and their
participation about their ecosystem.
g) Conservation and protection of rivers, and valleys should be declared as an eco-sensitive
zone.
h) There should be strict norms and environmental impact assessment for all the
constructional projects like dams, hydel power plants, mining etc. in the sensitive area.
28. A combination of natural and man-made factors caused this disaster in Uttarakhand.
Unprecedented destruction by the rainfall witnessed in Uttarakhand state was attributed,
by environmentalists, to unscientific developmental activities undertaken in recent
decades contributing to high level of loss of property and lives. Roads constructed in
haphazard style, new resorts and hotels built on fragile river banks and more than 70
hydroelectric projects in the watersheds of the state led to a "disaster waiting to happen"
as termed by certain environmentalists. The environmental experts reported that the
tunnels built and blasts undertaken for the 70 hydroelectric projects contributed to the
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ecological imbalance in the state, with flows of river water restricted and the streamside
development activity contributing to a higher number of landslides and more flooding.
29. Some slopes are susceptible to landslides whereas others are more stable. Many factors
contribute to the instability of slopes, but the main controlling factors are the nature of the
underlying bedrock and soil, the configuration of the slope, the geometry of the slope, and
ground-water conditions.
 Undercutting of a slope by stream erosion, wave action, glaciers, or human activity
such as road building,
 Intense or prolonged rainfall, rapid snowmelt, or sharp fluctuations in ground-water
levels,
 Shocks or vibrations caused by earthquakes or construction activity,
 Loading on upper slopes, or
A combination of these and other factors.
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