GS Paper I — Q6
What are the environmental implications of the reclamation of water bodies into urban land use ? Explain with examples. (Answer…
What are the environmental implications of the reclamation of water bodies into urban land use ? Explain with examples. (Answer in 150 words) 10 marks
हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें
शहरी भूमि उपयोग के लिए जल निकायों से भूमि-उद्धार के पर्यावरणीय प्रभाव क्या हैं ? उदाहरणों सहित समझाइए । (150 शब्दों में उत्तर दीजिए)
Model answer
Drafted with AI by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 150-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key. How we build rubrics and answers.
Floods and groundwater Loss of storage and percolation causes urban flooding and falling water tables, as in Chennai in 2015, where the Pallikaranai marsh had been heavily encroached.
Biodiversity and water quality Habitats of fish and resident and migratory birds disappear (East Kolkata Wetlands fringe, Bengaluru lakes). Lost natural filtration leaves surviving water bodies eutrophic and polluted; Bellandur Lake's froth and fires drew National Green Tribunal orders.
Microclimate Concrete replaces evaporative cooling and intensifies the urban heat island effect.
Livelihoods and law Fishing communities lose incomes, and reclamation conflicts with the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017.
How this answer will be evaluated
Framework: GS1 Geography/Environment
What earns full marks: Detailed mechanism of environmental loss with specific urban examples.
Evaluation rubric
Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.
- The answer Define reclamation and detail the specific environmental consequences of converting water bodies to urban land. 10 marks · 150 words
explain— definition/context → points in order → small example → short close
Must cover
- Loss of biodiversity and aquatic habitat
- Disruption of natural drainage and flood risk
- Reduction in groundwater recharge capacity
- Specific examples of reclaimed water bodies
Loses marks
- Focusing only on economic benefits of reclamation
- Vague generalities without specific environmental mechanisms
- Ignoring the 'urban land use' context
Earns more
- Mention of urban heat island effect
- Loss of wetland ecosystem services
- Reference to specific city (e.g., Mumbai, Delhi)
Extra mark
- Reference to specific environmental clearance issues
- Mention of specific species loss
What "Explain" is asking you to do
Make the working of something clear — what sets it off, what follows from what, and what it produces. Explain is the Commission's mechanism word: it dominates the technical papers and the “explain why” stems, where the marks sit in the causal chain and not in the label.
Structure that answers it
State what it is → the initiating condition → the chain of cause, step by step → an instance where it plays out → what the chain produces
Where marks are lost
Describing what something looks like instead of why it works that way. Naming the stages without linking them reads as description too.
Practice this exact question
Write your answer and it is marked point by point against the model answer above — what you covered, what you missed, what you got wrong.
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