RAS Pre 2021, held on 27 October 2021. Question text as printed in RPSC's booklet; answer as per RPSC's final answer key.

Gogelav Conservation Reserve is situated in which district?

Q: What is the answer to RAS Pre 2021 Q55?

(3). Correct — option (3), Nagaur. Gogelav Conservation Reserve lies in Nagaur district. The Rajasthan Forest Department's list of protected areas places it in Nagaur, with an area of 3.58 sq km, and its page for the reserve gives the notification date as 9 March 2012. The State's Statistical Abstract 2015, citing the Forest Department's Administrative Report 2013-14, lists Gogelav under Nagaur with the same 3.58 sq km. It is one of 10 conservation reserves in that table. Nagaur has a second reserve on both lists, Rotu, of 0.73 sq km. The Forest Department dates Rotu's notification to 29 May 2012. The other three districts appear on the same table against other protected areas: Pali against the Jawai Bandh reserve (and the Kumbhalgarh and Todgarh Raoli sanctuaries), Jalore against Sundha Mata, shared with Sirohi, and Churu against the Tal Chhapar sanctuary. Gogelav and Rotu are both conservation reserves of Nagaur.

(1)Pali
(2)Churu
(3)Nagaur
(4)Jalore

Answer

(3)

Why

Correct — option (3), Nagaur.

Gogelav Conservation Reserve lies in Nagaur district. The Rajasthan Forest Department's list of protected areas places it in Nagaur, with an area of 3.58 sq km, and its page for the reserve gives the notification date as 9 March 2012.

The State's Statistical Abstract 2015, citing the Forest Department's Administrative Report 2013-14, lists Gogelav under Nagaur with the same 3.58 sq km. It is one of 10 conservation reserves in that table.

Nagaur has a second reserve on both lists, Rotu, of 0.73 sq km. The Forest Department dates Rotu's notification to 29 May 2012.

The other three districts appear on the same table against other protected areas: Pali against the Jawai Bandh reserve (and the Kumbhalgarh and Todgarh Raoli sanctuaries), Jalore against Sundha Mata, shared with Sirohi, and Churu against the Tal Chhapar sanctuary.

Gogelav and Rotu are both conservation reserves of Nagaur.

Why the others are wrong

(1)
Pali — Gogelav is not in Pali. The Forest Department lists it in Nagaur.
Pali's reserve on the Statistical Abstract 2015 table is Jawai Bandh Conservation Reserve, 19.79 sq km. The Forest Department names it Jawaibandh Leopard Conservation Reserve and dates its notification to 27 February 2013.
(2)
Churu — Gogelav is not in Churu. The Forest Department lists it in Nagaur.
Churu's entry on the Statistical Abstract 2015 table is Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary, 7.19 sq km. It sits in the sanctuaries section of that table, not among the conservation reserves.
(4)
Jalore — Gogelav is not in Jalore. The Forest Department lists it in Nagaur.
Jalore appears on the Statistical Abstract 2015 table through Sundha Mata Conservation Reserve, listed under Jalore and Sirohi with 117.49 sq km. That reserve crosses a district boundary; Gogelav, at 3.58 sq km, is listed under Nagaur alone.

Concept

A conservation reserve is a protected area under Section 36A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, a category added by the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002.

A State Government declares one on government-owned land, after consulting local communities, especially land next to national parks and sanctuaries or land that links protected areas. The parallel category for community or private land is the community reserve, under Section 36C.

Reserves vary in size. In the Statistical Abstract 2015 table for 2013-14, Shakambhari (Sikar and Jhunjhunu, 131 sq km) was the largest of the 10 and Rotu (Nagaur, 0.73 sq km) the smallest.

RPSC's 2021 Prelims syllabus lists "Biodiversity & its Conservation" under the Geography of Rajasthan. Conservation reserves are one layer of the State's protected-area network, beside national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves.

The network grows by notification, so any list is a list as of a date. The Statistical Abstract 2015 counted 10 conservation reserves for 2013-14; the Forest Department dates the notification of Mansa Mata Conservation Reserve, which is not on that table, to 18 November 2019.

On that table two districts appear against more than one reserve. Nagaur has Gogelav and Rotu; Jhunjhunu has Beed Jhunjhunu and shares Shakambhari with Sikar.

Key facts

The Rajasthan Forest Department lists Gogelav Conservation Reserve in Nagaur district, 3.58 sq km, notified on 9 March 2012.
Rotu Conservation Reserve, also in Nagaur (0.73 sq km), was the smallest of the 10 reserves in the Statistical Abstract 2015 table for 2013-14.
A State Government declares a conservation reserve under Section 36A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, after consulting local communities.
Statistical Abstract 2015 (2013-14): Jawai Bandh reserve in Pali, 19.79 sq km; Sundha Mata reserve in Jalore and Sirohi, 117.49 sq km.
Tal Chhapar in Churu (7.19 sq km) is listed as a wildlife sanctuary, not a conservation reserve, in the same table.

Protected area – district

Gogelav Conservation Reserve→Nagaur (3.58 sq km)

Rotu Conservation Reserve→Nagaur (0.73 sq km)

Jawai Bandh Conservation Reserve→Pali (19.79 sq km)

Sundha Mata Conservation Reserve→Jalore and Sirohi (117.49 sq km)

Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary→Churu (7.19 sq km)

Gogelav is in Nagaur. Districts and areas from the Rajasthan Statistical Abstract 2015 (Forest Department data for 2013-14) and the Forest Department's protected-area list.

Study next

Conservation reserves of Rajasthan and their districtsWildlife sanctuaries of Rajasthan, including Tal Chhapar in ChuruLeopard conservation at Jawai Bandh, PaliSections 36A and 36C of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972Tiger reserves and national parks of Rajasthan

Common traps

Mixing categories. Tal Chhapar in Churu is a wildlife sanctuary, while Gogelav is a conservation reserve, so a district known for one protected area need not hold the one named.
Nagaur holds two reserves, Gogelav and Rotu. Learning reserves district by district keeps such pairs together.
Some reserves cross district lines: Sundha Mata is listed under Jalore and Sirohi. A district in a reserve's listing is not always its only district.

A question can name a single reserve and ask for its district, as this one does.

A question can also match several reserves to districts, ask for the wrong pair in a list, or ask which protected area is a sanctuary rather than a conservation reserve.

Related PYQs

RPSC_2024_PRE_GS_Q122024Open & attempt →

Which is not a correct match ? Conservation Reserve (as on May 2023) – District

(1) Rankhar – Jalore
(2) Mansamata – Jhunjhunu
(3) Sorsan – Bundi
(4) Hamirgarh – Bhilwara

Answer(3)

Same placing of conservation reserves in districts. That item asks for the pair that is not a correct match among four reserves as on May 2023 (RPSC's key: option (3), Sorsan – Bundi); this one asks the district of a single reserve.

RPSC_2023_PRE_GS_Q122023Open & attempt →

Which is not a correct match ? Wildlife Sanctuary – District

(1) Shergarh – Bundi
(2) Bassi – Chittorgarh
(3) Ramsagar Van Vihar – Dholpur
(4) Sitamata – Pratapgarh

Answer(1)

Same protected-area-to-district matching, for wildlife sanctuaries. That item asks which sanctuary–district pair is not a correct match (RPSC's key: option (1), Shergarh – Bundi); this one asks the district of one conservation reserve.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Rotu Conservation Reserve is situated in which district of Rajasthan?
- (a)Nagaur
- (b)Bikaner
- (c)Jhunjhunu
- (d)Jodhpur
Answer(1) — The Forest Department lists Rotu Conservation Reserve in Nagaur, 0.73 sq km. Option (2), Bikaner, has the Jodbeed Gadhwala reserve; option (3), Jhunjhunu, has Beed Jhunjhunu; option (4), Jodhpur, has Gudha Vishnoiyan. None of these three districts is Rotu's.
practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following protected areas of Rajasthan is a wildlife sanctuary and not a conservation reserve?
- (a)Gogelav
- (b)Tal Chhapar
- (c)Rotu
- (d)Jawai Bandh
Answer(2) — Tal Chhapar, in Churu, is listed among wildlife sanctuaries in the Statistical Abstract 2015 table. Option (1), Gogelav, and option (3), Rotu, are conservation reserves of Nagaur; option (4), Jawai Bandh, is a conservation reserve of Pali.