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
Why
Correct — option (3), Sorsan – Bundi.
The stem asks for the pair that is not a correct match. Sorsan lies in Baran district, not Bundi, so Sorsan – Bundi is the wrong pair and the answer.
The Rajasthan Forest Department lists the Sorsan I, II and III Conservation Reserves in Baran, and its area statement places every forest block of Sorsan I there.
The other three pairs are correct. Rankhar is in Jalore: a notification dated 25 April 2022 declared 7,288.61 hectares of Rankhar village, in Chitalwana tehsil of Jalore district, a conservation reserve. Mansa Mata is in Jhunjhunu, and Hamirgarh is in Bhilwara.
Bundi and Baran are both districts of the Hadoti region in the south-east, so knowing the region alone does not expose the error.
Fix each reserve to its district, not just its region: Sorsan is in Baran.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Rankhar – Jalore — This pair is correct, so it cannot answer a "not a correct match" question.
Rankhar is a conservation reserve of Jalore district. The Rajasthan Gazette carries the notification, dated 25 April 2022, declaring 7,288.61 hectares of forest and revenue land in Rankhar village, Chitalwana tehsil, a conservation reserve.
- (2)Mansamata – Jhunjhunu — This pair is correct. Mansa Mata Conservation Reserve is in Jhunjhunu district, in the Shekhawati region.
The Rajasthan Forest Department lists its notification as dated 18 November 2019. Because the pairing is true, it is a distractor in a question that asks for the wrong match.
- (4)Hamirgarh – Bhilwara — This pair is correct. Hamirgarh Conservation Reserve lies in Bhilwara district — the Rajasthan Forest Department's area statement puts its 566.15 hectares of reserved forest there.
Bhilwara borders Bundi but is not a Hadoti district, and the reserve is placed correctly. A true pair cannot be the answer to this question.
Concept
A conservation reserve is a category of protected area under Section 36A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, added by an amendment in 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.
Rajasthan uses conservation reserves for varied habitats: grasslands such as Sorsan in Baran, leopard country such as Jawai Bandh in Pali and Jhalana–Amagarh in Jaipur, and bird areas such as Ummedganj Pakshi Vihar.
RPSC's 2024 Prelims syllabus lists "Biodiversity & its Conservation" under the Geography of Rajasthan. The protected-area network — national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves and conservation reserves — falls under that head.
That network has grown quickly. Rajasthan's Economic Review 2022-23 counted 18 conservation reserves, and the Economic Review 2023-24 counted 36. The Forest Department lists Sorsan as three reserves, Sorsan I, II and III, each with a notification dated 26 April 2023.
Any list of reserves is therefore a list as of a date, and each reserve has to be tied to its district.
Key facts
- Conservation reserves are declared by a State Government under Section 36A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, after consulting local communities.
- Rankhar Conservation Reserve covers 7,288.61 hectares in Rankhar village, Chitalwana tehsil, Jalore district (notification dated 25 April 2022).
- Mansa Mata Conservation Reserve, in Jhunjhunu district, was notified on 18 November 2019.
- The Rajasthan Forest Department's area statements place Sorsan I Conservation Reserve in Baran (1,610.73 ha) and Hamirgarh Conservation Reserve in Bhilwara (566.15 ha).
- Rajasthan's Economic Review 2022-23 listed 18 conservation reserves; the Economic Review 2023-24 listed 36.
Three true pairs and one false pair; the false pair, option (3), is the answer.
Study next
Common traps
- The stem asks for the pair that is not correct. The three true pairs are the distractors, and the single false pair is the answer.
- Bundi and Baran are both Hadoti districts. A reserve placed in the right region can still be matched to the wrong district.
- Protected-area lists are dated. The Economic Review's count of conservation reserves went from 18 (2022-23) to 36 (2023-24), so older notes can miss a reserve.
A question can pair conservation reserves or sanctuaries with districts and ask for the wrong match, as this one does.
A question can also ask for the district of a single reserve, match reserves to districts in a list, or ask which site became a new tiger reserve.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2023, 2021 and 2016 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which is not a correct match ? Conservation Reserve – District
- (a)Jawai Bandh Leopard – Pali
- (b)Jhalana–Amagarh – Jaipur
- (c)Gogelav – Nagaur
- (d)Hamirgarh – Jalore
Answer(4) — Hamirgarh Conservation Reserve is in Bhilwara, not Jalore, so this pair is wrong. Option (1), Jawai Bandh, is in Pali. Option (2), Jhalana–Amagarh, is in Jaipur. Option (3), Gogelav, is in Nagaur. Those three pairs are correct. - practice — not a real PYQ
The Sorsan Conservation Reserve of Rajasthan is located in which district ?
- (a)Bundi
- (b)Baran
- (c)Kota
- (d)Jhalawar
Answer(2) — Sorsan is in Baran. Option (1), Bundi, is another Hadoti district; it shares the Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve with Kota. Option (3), Kota, holds part of the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve. Option (4), Jhalawar, is another Hadoti district. The shared region is the trap.