Protected Area Network

* Community reserves in India are terms denoting protected areas of India which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests of India.

* Statement 1 is incorrect: As per the Section 36 D of the WildLife Protection Act (WLPA): The State Government shall constitute a Community Reserve management committee, which shall be the authority responsible for conserving, maintaining and managing the community reserve. The committee shall elect a Chairman who shall also be the Honorary WildLife Warden on the community reserve.

* Statement 2 is correct: After a forest has been made into a community reserve, people are not allowed to hunt there, thus hunting is prohibited in community reserves.

* Statement 3 is correct: People of such areas are allowed to collect non-timber forest produce.

* Statement 4 is incorrect: After a forest has been made into a community reserve, people are also not allowed to use it for agricultural practices such as shifting (jhum) cultivation.

* Critical Tiger Habitats (CTH), also known as core areas of tiger reserves, are identified under the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 based on scientific evidence that such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purpose of tiger conservation.

* Among the options given, Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve has the largest area under 'Critical Tiger Habitat'. It spreads over five districts and the total area of the tiger reserve is 3,728 sq. km.

Statement 1 is correct: Desert National Park is located in Rajasthan and is one of the largest national parks in India, covering an area of around 3,162 km². It represents the Thar Desert ecosystem, featuring sand dunes, rocky terrain, and sparse vegetation. The park is spread across Jaisalmer and Barmer districts of Rajasthan.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Unlike some protected areas, human settlements exist within Desert National Park. Several villages and communities, including those engaged in livestock rearing, are located inside the park.

Statement 3 is correct: The park is one of the last strongholds of the Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), which is critically endangered. Conservation efforts, including captive breeding programs, are ongoing to protect this bird. Therefore, the correct answer is that statements 1 and 3 are correct.

Nagarhole National Park is located in the Kodagu and Mysore districts of Karnataka and is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It is indeed located in the Cauvery basin.

Papikonda National Park is not located in the Cauvery basin. It is actually located in the Godavari basin.

Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve lies on the banks of the River Bhavani, a tributary of the River Cauvery in the foothills of the Eastern Ghats. So, it is located in the Cauvery basin.

Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary: The Kabini river, a tributary of the Cauvery river, flows through the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Hence, it is also located in the Cauvery basin.

So, the correct answer includes Nagarhole National Park, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.

Pair 1 is Correct: The Blue-finned Mahseer is a freshwater fish species that is naturally found in the Cauvery River. This species is also found in other rivers of the Deccan Plateau.


Pair 2 is incorrect: The Irrawaddy Dolphin is not found in the Chambal River, which is known for the Gangetic Dolphin. It is found in coastal areas in South and Southeast Asia, and in three rivers: the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong (Cambodia and Laos). In India, it is found in Lake Chilika (Odisha).


Pair 3 is correct: The Rusty-spotted Cat is a small wild cat species that is found in the Eastern Ghats. It is also found in the Western Ghats, central India, and Sri Lanka.


Therefore, option (C) 1 and 3 are correctly matched.

The Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve is a vital ecological hotspot located in the Western Ghats of southern India. It serves as a unique genetic reservoir of cultivated and wild plant species, including many rare, endemic, and medicinal plants.

The biosphere reserve spans across Kerala and Tamil Nadu, covering diverse ecosystems from tropical forests to montane grasslands. It includes three wildlife sanctuaries Shendurney (Kerala), Peppara (Kerala) and Neyyar (Kerala), as well as the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu).

The Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Arunachal Pradesh, is part of the Kameng Elephant Reserve and is contiguous with the Pakke Tiger Reserve. It is known for its rich biodiversity and dense forests, making it a critical habitat for various wildlife species. The Bhareli (Pakke) and Bamadi rivers flow through the sanctuary, supporting its diverse ecosystem. Several indigenous tribes, including the Nyishi and Apatani, reside in the region, coexisting with the forest and its resources.


Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve is a protected area and Tiger Reserve along the Western Ghats in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.


Largest among the four tiger reserves (Kalakad-Mundanthurai, Annamalai, Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam) in Tamil Nadu, STR is a significant wildlife corridor in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve between the Western Ghats and the rest of the Eastern Ghats, serving as a genetic link to contiguous protected areas including the Biligiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Sigur Plateau, Mudumalai National Park and Bandipur National Park.

Out of the listed pairs, only Nokrek Biosphere Reserve is correctly matched to Garo Hills.

Pair 1 is correctly matched: Nokrek Biosphere Reserve is situated in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya.

Pair 2 is incorrectly matched: Logtak (Loktak) Lake (famous for Phumdis) is located in Manipur, not the Barail Range (which is a mountain range in Assam).

Pair 3 is incorrectly matched: Namdapha National Park is indeed found in Arunachal Pradesh, but not specifically in the Dafla Hills region. It's on the eastern border with Myanmar.


Pair 1 is incorrect: Ramganga River (not the Ganga River) passes through Jim Corbett National Park, located in Uttarakhand state, which is the oldest national park of India.

Pair 2 is incorrect: Kaziranga in Assam is a vast stretch of tall elephant grass, marshland and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests crisscrossed by four main rivers Brahmaputra, Diphlu, Mora Diphlu and Mora Dhansiri and has numerous small water bodies.

Pair 3 is incorrect: The Kunthipuzha River passes through the Silent Valley National Park, located in the Kerala state.

Thus, no pair is correctly matched.