UPSC Prelims 2020 CSAT Paper II · Q24 of 80 Comprehension medium

Passage

Our urban bodies cannot possibly ensure sustainable delivery of water in our cities unless financing mechanisms are put in place. Water delivery requires heavy investment in collecting it from a natural source, treating it to make it potable, and laying a distribution network of pipes for delivery to the users. It also requires investments in sewerage infrastructure and sewage treatment plants so that the sewers can carry the wastewater to these plants to ensure that no untreated sewage is discharged

What is the most logical and crucial message conveyed by the passage?

  1. (a) Urban local bodies must recover costs through user charges. ✓ UPSC's answer
  2. (b) Urban local bodies are not efficient enough to meet the water requirements of our cities.
  3. (c) Water shortage in our cities is a perennial problem that cannot be solved.
  4. (d) In view of the water crisis in our cities, there is an urgent need to limit the population of cities by adopting an upper limit of population size.

Why the answer is (a)

• The passage explicitly states that sustainable water delivery is impossible 'unless financing mechanisms are put in place.'

• It details the heavy investment required for collection, treatment, distribution, and sewage infrastructure.

• The core argument links the feasibility of water services directly to the availability of funds.

• Recovering costs through user charges is the standard financial mechanism for urban local bodies to fund such heavy infrastructure investments.

• Therefore, the crucial message is that financial sustainability via cost recovery is essential for service delivery.

Why the other options are wrong

(b) Urban local bodies are not efficient enough to meet the water requirements of our cities.
The passage attributes the failure to a lack of financing mechanisms, not to the inherent inefficiency of the urban local bodies.
(c) Water shortage in our cities is a perennial problem that cannot be solved.
The passage suggests the problem is solvable if financing mechanisms are established, rather than stating it is an unsolvable perennial problem.
(d) In view of the water crisis in our cities, there is an urgent need to limit the…
The passage focuses on infrastructure investment and financing, making no mention of population control or setting upper limits on city size.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2020, held on 4 October 2020. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

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