IAS Prelims Geography GQ-9 – 2022 | Indian Geography: Dams & Reservoirs
Authentic Classroom Explanation by IAS Monk
📍 The Question
Consider the following pairs:
| Reservoir | State |
|---|---|
| 1. Ghataprabha | Telangana |
| 2. Gandhi Sagar | Madhya Pradesh |
| 3. Indira Sagar | Andhra Pradesh |
| 4. Maithon | Chhattisgarh |
How many pairs given above are not correctly matched?
(a) Only one pair
(b) Only two pairs
(c) Only three pairs
(d) All four pairs
✅ Correct Answer: (c) Only three pairs
🎯 Theme of the Question
Indian Geography | Water Resources | River Valley Projects | Location-based Traps
This is a classic UPSC dam–state mismatch question, where one correct pair is hidden among multiple wrong ones.
🧠 Classroom Explanation
Let us verify each pair carefully.
🔹 Pair 1: Ghataprabha — Telangana ❌
- Ghataprabha River is a tributary of the Krishna
- The Raja Lakhamagouda (Hidkal) Dam is built on this river
- Location: Belagavi district, Karnataka
✔️ Hence, Pair 1 is incorrectly matched.
🔹 Pair 2: Gandhi Sagar — Madhya Pradesh ✅
- Gandhi Sagar Dam is built on the Chambal River
- Located in Mandsaur–Neemuch region, Madhya Pradesh
- Part of the Chambal Valley Project
✔️ Pair 2 is correctly matched.
🔹 Pair 3: Indira Sagar — Andhra Pradesh ❌
- Indira Sagar Dam is built on the Narmada River
- Located at Narmada Nagar (Punasa), Khandwa district
- State: Madhya Pradesh
- It is India’s largest dam by reservoir capacity
✔️ Hence, Pair 3 is incorrectly matched.
🔹 Pair 4: Maithon — Chhattisgarh ❌
- Maithon Dam is built on the Barakar River
- Located near Dhanbad, Jharkhand
- Part of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) system
✔️ Hence, Pair 4 is incorrectly matched.
📊 Final Assessment
| Pair | Correctly matched? |
|---|---|
| Ghataprabha – Telangana | ❌ |
| Gandhi Sagar – Madhya Pradesh | ✅ |
| Indira Sagar – Andhra Pradesh | ❌ |
| Maithon – Chhattisgarh | ❌ |
👉 Number of incorrectly matched pairs = 3
👉 Answer: (c)
🧩 Memory Hook
“Gandhi Sagar stays loyal to MP — others drift away.”
🧠 Prelims Strategy Insight
For dam–state questions:
- Fix one dam permanently with its river + state
- Narmada dams = mostly Madhya Pradesh
- DVC dams = Jharkhand–West Bengal belt
- Krishna tributaries ≠ Telangana by default
🧭 IAS Monk Whisper
Dams don’t move —
only options try to shift them.