Scarcity depends on demand, access and quality, not rainfall alone.
(a) Not necessarily suffering from water scarcity. (b) Suffering from water scarcity because demand from a large population may exceed supply. (c) Suffering from water scarcity because pollution makes available water unusable. (d) Not necessarily suffering from water scarcity if the small population’s demand remains within the limited supply.
- (a). Multi-purpose projects bring water to those areas which suffer from water scarcity.
- (b). Multi-purpose projects by regulating water flow helps to control floods.
- (c). Multi-purpose projects lead to large scale displacements and loss of livelihood.
- (d). Multi-purpose projects generate electricity for our industries and our homes.
Displacement and livelihood loss are criticisms, not benefits, of large projects.
(c) Multi-purpose projects lead to large scale displacements and loss of livelihood.
Each correction reverses the factual error using the chapter’s urbanisation, dam and Rajasthan sections.
(a) Multiplying urban centres with dense populations and water-intensive lifestyles have caused over-exploitation and improper use of water resources. (b) Regulating and damming rivers alter natural flow and sediment movement, fragment habitats and reduce sediment reaching floodplains. (c) In much of Rajasthan, rooftop rainwater harvesting has declined where perennial water became available through the Indira Gandhi Canal, though some households continue or revive it for conservation and quality.
Renewability comes from the continuous hydrological cycle.
Solar energy drives evaporation, condensation and precipitation in the hydrological cycle. Water continually circulates through oceans, air, surface flows and groundwater, replenishing freshwater when use and pollution do not exceed recharge.
The definition includes both quantitative shortage and poor quality/access.
Water scarcity is insufficient usable water to meet demand. Its main causes are low or variable rainfall, population growth, unequal access, intensive irrigation, industrialisation, urban lifestyles, over-extraction and pollution of available supplies.
The comparison uses the stated purposes of dams and the social-environmental criticism.
Advantages include irrigation, hydroelectricity, domestic and industrial water, flood moderation, navigation and recreation. Disadvantages include displacement, submerged forests and farmland, disrupted sediment and fish movement, waterlogging, salinity, disease, conflicts over benefits and ecological damage downstream.
Grounded in the Rajasthan rooftop tanka and runoff-harvesting descriptions.
In semi-arid Rajasthan, houses traditionally collect rooftop rainwater through pipes that lead into underground tanks called tankas, built inside the main house or courtyard. The first rain is often allowed to wash the roof and pipes; later showers are stored. The cool tank water can last until the next rainy season and is especially valuable when other sources become saline. In rural areas, khadins and johads capture surface runoff: embankments hold water so that it infiltrates the soil and supports cultivation or recharges groundwater. These systems are locally adapted to low and uncertain rainfall and reduce dependence on distant supplies.
The answer uses the chapter’s Shillong, Tamil Nadu and Gendathur examples.
Modern rooftop systems channel rain through gutters and pipes into storage tanks or recharge structures. Filters remove debris, and recharge pits or wells send water into aquifers. In Tamil Nadu, rooftop harvesting has been made compulsory for houses, encouraging widespread recharge. In Shillong, where water shortage can occur despite heavy rainfall, household roof systems supply a substantial share of need. In Gendathur, Karnataka, villagers installed rooftop collection to meet domestic requirements. These adaptations preserve the traditional principle of capturing rain where it falls while adding pipes, filters, covered tanks and planned groundwater recharge suited to modern buildings.