Previous Year Question
A particular State in India has the following characteristics:
It is located on the same latitude which passes through northern Rajasthan.
It has over 80% of its area under forest cover.
Over 12% of forest cover constitutes Protected Area Network in this State.
Which one among the following States has all the above characteristics?
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Himachal Pradesh
Uttarakhand
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Option (a) is correct. All three characteristics apply to Arunachal Pradesh.
Statement 1 is correct.
According to the official State Action Plan of the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, the State extends approximately from 26°28′ N to 29°30′ N latitude. According to the Rajasthan Forest Department, Rajasthan extends approximately from 23°3′ N to 30°12′ N. Thus, the latitudes around 27°–29° N that pass through northern Rajasthan also pass through Arunachal Pradesh.
This is an important geographical point: although Arunachal Pradesh lies far to the northeast of India, in terms of latitude it occupies a belt that overlaps substantially with northern Rajasthan.
Statement 2 is correct.
The most relevant Government data available at the time of this question, the India State of Forest Report 2011, recorded the geographical area of Arunachal Pradesh as 83,743 km² and its forest cover as 67,410 km². This represented 80.50% of the State's geographical area. Thus, the condition that more than 80% of the State was under forest cover was satisfied.
In 2011, this forest cover consisted of approximately 20,868 km² of Very Dense Forest, 31,519 km² of Moderately Dense Forest and 15,023 km² of Open Forest, together amounting to 67,410 km².
Statement 3 is also correct.
Wildlife Institute of India State data records the combined area of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in Arunachal Pradesh at approximately 9,897.19 km². With an ISFR 2011 forest-cover area of 67,410 km², the Protected Area Network represented approximately 14.7% of the forest-cover area, exceeding the 12% condition in the question. WII records also show 2 National Parks and 11 Wildlife Sanctuaries in Arunachal Pradesh for that period.
Current official data of the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department similarly demonstrates the State's high conservation coverage: its Protected Area Network covers about 9,779 km², which the Department states is approximately 19.37% of the State's forest area.
Thus, all three conditions are satisfied:
Latitude → overlaps with the latitude belt of northern Rajasthan
Forest Cover → 80.50%
Protected Area Network → more than 12% of forest area