Read the given passage carefully and answer following five questions.
India has 640,867 Villages according to the Census 2011 out of which 597,608 (93.2 per cent) are inhabited villages. However, the distribution of rural population is not uniform throughout the country. You might have noted that the states like Bihar and Sikkim have very high percentage of rural population. The states of Goa and Maharashtra have only little over half of their total population residing in villages. The Union Territories, on the other hand, have smaller proportion of rural population, except Dadra and Nagar Haveli (53.38 per cent). The size of villages also varies considerably. It is less than 200 persons in the hill states of north-eastern India, Western Rajasthan and Rann of Kuchchh and as high as 17 thousand persons in the states of Kerala and in parts of Maharashtra. A thorough examination of the pattern of distribution of rural population of India reveals that both at intra-State and inter-State levels, the relative degree of urbanisation and extent of rural-urban migration regulate the concentration of rural population.
You have noted that contrary to rural population, the proportion of urban population (31.16 per cent) in India is quite low but it is showing a much faster rate of growth over the decades. The growth rate of urban population has accelerated due to enhanced economic development and improvement in health and hygienic conditions. The distribution of urban population too, as in the case of total population, has a wide variation throughout the country (Appendix-iv).
Which one of the following is not a reason to accelerate the urbanisation?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Clean air
The passage states: “The growth rate of urban population has accelerated due to enhanced economic development and improvement in health and hygienic conditions.”
Urbanisation grows when cities pull people from villages. People move to cities for jobs, schools and hospitals, and better health in cities also adds to their population.
Option (1) Improvement in health conditions — A reason to accelerate urbanisation. Better health and hygienic conditions in towns have made urban population grow faster.
Option (2) Better employment opportunities — A reason to accelerate urbanisation. Cities offer better employment opportunities, so people move from villages to cities in search of work.
Option (3) Good education infrastructure — A reason to accelerate urbanisation. Cities have better educational and medical facilities, which draw people from rural areas.
Option (4) Clean air — Not a reason to accelerate urbanisation. Cities are crowded and congested, with poor sanitary conditions and foul air. Clean air is not what draws people to cities.
NCERT (2026-27): “(ii) Urbanisation: Cities offer better employment opportunities, educational and medical facilities, better means of transport and communication. Good civic amenities and the attraction of city life draw people to the cities. It leads to rural to urban migration and cities grow in size.” “Urban Waste Disposal … Urban areas are generally marked by overcrowding, congestion, inadequate facilities to support the fast growing population and consequent poor sanitary conditions and foul air.” |