Environment, Disasters & Internal Security of Maharashtra — Practice

Question 1

Why is the 1967 Koyna earthquake significant?

Accepted Answer

It is the classic Indian case of reservoir-induced seismicity, occurring near the Koyna dam's reservoir.

Question 2

What is the C-60 force?

Accepted Answer

A commando force raised by the Gadchiroli police in 1992 for jungle operations against Left-wing extremists, recruited largely from local people.

Question 3

What did the Bombay High Court order on mangroves in 2018?

Accepted Answer

It ordered the protection of mangroves across Maharashtra, restricting their destruction and construction around them.

Question 4

What did the Kasturirangan Committee recommend for the Western Ghats?

Accepted Answer

That about 37 per cent of the Ghats, the natural landscape, be notified as an Ecologically Sensitive Area with bans on mining, quarrying and large polluting industry.

Question 5

Name three security measures taken in Maharashtra after 26/11.

Accepted Answer

Force One, an elite counter-terrorism unit (2009); an NSG hub in Mumbai; and a rebuilt coastal security system with coastal police stations and Sagar Kavach exercises.

Question 6

Why did the Latur earthquake of 1993 cause such heavy loss of life? (~150 words)

Accepted Answer

The earthquake of 30 September 1993 struck Killari in Latur district, in the Deccan, an area considered stable, so it was unexpected and there was no preparation. It occurred before dawn, when people were asleep indoors. Most village houses were built of heavy, uncoursed stone with mud mortar and thick roofs, which collapsed and crushed their occupants. About 10,000 people died. The reconstruction, with World Bank support, used safer building methods and involved communities, and the disaster pushed Maharashtra and India towards planned disaster management. The lesson is that vulnerability, above all unsafe housing, turns a moderate hazard into a catastrophe.

Question 7

What lessons do the 2005 Mumbai floods and the Sahyadri landslides hold for disaster risk reduction in Maharashtra? (~250 words)

Accepted Answer

Both show that hazards become disasters through exposure and vulnerability built by human choices. On 26 July 2005 about 944 mm of rain fell in a day at Santacruz, but the scale of loss came from encroached and silted drains, the lost floodplain of the Mithi river and destroyed mangroves; the Chitale Committee recommended clearing and widening drains, restoring the Mithi, protecting mangroves and completing the storm-water upgrade, and warning systems were improved. The landslides at Malin in 2014, Taliye in 2021 and Irshalwadi in 2023 followed extreme rain on steep slopes weakened by deforestation, land-use change and road cutting, with villages directly below. The lessons are five. Map risk by identifying landslide-prone villages and flood-prone wards. Plan land use so that drains, floodplains and mangroves stay free and building on unstable slopes is restricted. Warn and move early by linking rainfall thresholds to evacuation orders. Relocate at-risk villages with consent and livelihoods, not only houses. Build local capacity through trained village and ward teams and drills. The shift needed is from relief after the event to risk reduction before it, as the Disaster Management Act of 2005 and the Sendai Framework intend.

Question 8

Evaluate Maharashtra's approach to Left-wing extremism in Gadchiroli. (~150 words)

Accepted Answer

Maharashtra has combined force with development. The C-60 force, raised in 1992 from local recruits, has led operations with central forces. Roads, bridges, mobile towers, schools and health camps have reached remote villages, and a surrender and rehabilitation policy offers cadres a way out. Community forest rights under the Forest Rights Act, as in Mendha-Lekha, have given villagers control over forest produce and a stake in the system. Surrenders have risen and violence has fallen. The risk lies in large-scale mining, which can alienate Adivasi communities if Gram Sabha consent and fair benefit-sharing are ignored. Lasting peace depends on development that villagers own and on respect for their rights.

Question 9

Discuss the Western Ghats conservation debate with reference to Maharashtra. (~150 words)

Accepted Answer

The Sahyadri, part of the Western Ghats, is a biodiversity hotspot and the source of the rivers that water the Deccan and the Konkan. The Gadgil Committee of 2011 recommended treating the whole Ghats as ecologically sensitive in three graded zones with strong local participation. The Kasturirangan Committee of 2013 proposed a narrower approach, notifying about 37 per cent of the Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area with bans on mining, quarrying and large polluting industry. Draft notifications have covered more than 2,000 villages in Maharashtra, but final notification has been delayed by objections over livelihoods and development. The landslides at Malin, Taliye and Irshalwadi strengthen the case for protection. A workable path is to notify the ESA with village-level mapping, involve Gram Sabhas, and support livelihoods such as eco-tourism and horticulture.

Practice — Environment, Disasters & Internal Security of Maharashtra

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