Water allocation - most rational action
Question
Which one of the following statements best reflects the most rational, practical and immediate action required to ensure fair and equitable allocation of water to different stakeholders?
Options
A national, pragmatic, legal and policy framework for water allocation should be made.
All river systems of the country should be linked and huge aquifers created.
Water channels between regions of water surplus and regions of water deficit should be created.
To mitigate water crisis, water demand of sectors such as agriculture and industry should be reduced.
Explanation
The passage details the widespread nature of water stress and inter-state conflicts, highlighting that water is constitutionally a State subject[cite: 2718, 2721]. It explicitly states that the key to balancing competing demands is an objective, "basin-based approach to allocate water amongst constituent regions and States"[cite: 2722, 2723]. To implement such a systematic, criteria-based system across constitutional boundaries, a macro-level administrative and legal policy structure must be established[cite: 2721, 2723]. This directly supports option (a). Options (b) and (c) introduce extreme engineering projects (river-linking, artificial aquifers) completely absent from the text[cite: 2747, 2750]. Option (d) suggests an unhelpful economic constraint rather than an allocation mechanism.
Answer: (a).
Question details
Year
2023
Paper
CSAT
Question
Q1
Section
Reading Comprehension
Sub-topic
Environment / Resource passage
Type
RC - Critical message
Difficulty
Medium
Source hint
Passage-based comprehension
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