In which environment one can expect the presence of the clustered rural settlements?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Alluvial plains of Ganga River
A clustered settlement is a compact, closely built-up village. Such villages are found in fertile alluvial plains.
Option (1) Alluvial plains of Ganga River — Correct. The Ganga plains are fertile alluvial plains. In India, compact villages are common in the northern plains.
Option (2) On small hills with farms or pastures on the slope — Incorrect. This is the setting of dispersed settlements, with isolated huts on small hills.
Option (3) Ridges on the Himalayas — Incorrect. Very fragmented terrain causes dispersed settlements, as in many areas of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Option (4) Thick forest and Hills of North-East — Incorrect. Thick forest and small hills are the setting of isolated huts in remote jungles, which make dispersed settlements, as in Meghalaya. The northeastern states also have clustered villages, but the setting of this option points to dispersed huts.
NCERT (2026-27): “Clustered Settlements … The clustered rural settlement is a compact or closely built up area of houses. … Such settlements are generally found in fertile alluvial plains and in the northeastern states.” “Dispersed Settlements … Dispersed or isolated settlement pattern in India appears in the form of isolated huts or hamlets of few huts in remote jungles, or on small hills with farms or pasture on the slopes. Extreme dispersion of settlement is often caused by extremely fragmented nature of the terrain and land resource base of habitable areas. Many areas of Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala have this type of settlement.” |