Which of the following statements about urban agglomeration are correct?
A. A town and its adjoining urban outgrowths
B. Two or more contiguous towns with or without their outgrowth
C. All cities with more than 10 million population
D. A city and one or more adjoining towns with their outgrowths together forming a contiguous spread
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → A, B, D only
An urban agglomeration is a town or city that has grown together with the built-up areas around it. It can form in any one of three ways.
(A) A town and its adjoining urban outgrowths — Correct. This is the first way: one town together with the urban outgrowths next to it.
(B) Two or more contiguous towns with or without their outgrowth — Correct. This is the second way: towns that touch each other grow into one urban area.
(C) All cities with more than 10 million population — Incorrect. An urban agglomeration depends on how towns and outgrowths join, not on a population limit. Cities with more than five million people are called mega cities.
(D) A city and one or more adjoining towns with their outgrowths together forming a contiguous spread — Correct. This is the third way: a city and the towns around it form one contiguous spread.
Note: This question is taken from the pre-rationalised NCERT book. The latest edition (2026-27) does not have this part. An extract of the pre-rationalised NCERT book is given below for the benefit of students.
Pre-rationalised NCERT: “Classification of Towns on the basis of Population Size … Cities accommodating population size between one to five million are called metropolitan cities and more than five million are mega cities. Majority of metropolitan and mega cities are urban agglomerations. An urban agglomeration may consist of any one of the following three combinations: (i) a town and its adjoining urban outgrowths, (ii) two or more contiguous towns with or without their outgrowths, and (iii) a city and one or more adjoining towns with their outgrowths together forming a contiguous spread.” |