UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Unplanned urbanisation refers to city growth that occurs without adequate planning,regulation and infrastructure provision. Such growth often produces slums,traffic problems and severe environmental pollution. It reflects a mismatch between population influx and urban management capacity. Therefore the description in the question accurately characterises unplanned urbanisation.

Option A:
Unplanned urbanisation typically lacks proper land use zoning and basic services. As a result,informal settlements arise and environmental quality deteriorates. This pattern explains the combination of slums and pollution highlighted in the stem.

Option B:
Sustainable urban design aims to create environmentally friendly,liveable and well serviced cities. It emphasises planning and efficient infrastructure,which is the opposite of the chaotic conditions described. Hence it is not the right answer.

Option C:
Rural reconstruction concerns improving living conditions and productivity in rural areas. While related to development,it does not refer to problems in rapidly growing cities. Therefore it is not appropriate for the question.

Option D:
Smart growth promotes compact,mixed use and transit oriented urban development to reduce sprawl and environmental impacts. It is usually seen as a positive planning approach,rather than the problematic situation outlined in the stem.

Urban sprawl refers to dispersed, low density development on the outskirts of cities,often lacking adequate public transport and services. It consumes large areas of land and contributes to habitat loss and pollution. The stem explicitly mentions unplanned horizontal expansion into rural areas with low density development, which is the hallmark of urban sprawl. Therefore urban sprawl is the correct term.

Option A:
Urban renewal involves redeveloping older urban areas to improve housing, infrastructure and services. It usually focuses on existing built up zones rather than outward expansion into rural land,so it does not fit the description in the question.

Option B:
Urban sprawl is typically associated with car dependence and fragmented land use patterns. This pattern increases energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. These negative outcomes align with the unplanned,spread out growth referred to in the stem.

Option C:
Smart growth is an alternative planning approach that promotes compact, mixed use and transit oriented development. It is designed to counteract sprawl,not to describe it,so it is not the right answer.

Option D:
Rural reconstruction focuses on improving social and economic conditions in rural areas through infrastructure,education and agriculture. It does not describe the outward expansion of cities,so it cannot fill the blank correctly.

Statement C is wrong because urbanisation does not always reduce pressure on rural and peri-urban areas; in fact, urban demand often increases extraction of resources and conversion of land outside cities. Statements A, B and D are correct: urbanisation can raise resource demand, compact forms can lower per capita use and urban consumption patterns shape wider ecological footprints. Therefore, the option that selects C alone as wrong is correct.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it treats both A and C as wrong, even though A is a true statement about increased resource demand with urban growth. Including a correct statement among wrong ones makes the option unacceptable.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect as it groups C and D as wrong. While C is indeed wrong, D is correct since city consumption influences regional and global ecological footprints through resource flows and waste.

Option C:
Option C is correct because it isolates C as the only incorrect statement and implicitly recognises A, B and D as accurate. It matches the requirement for selecting wrong statement(s).

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it labels all four statements as wrong. This misrepresents three correct statements about urbanisation and its environmental implications.

Rapid, unplanned urbanisation typically overloads infrastructure and services, creating high pressures on air, water and land that manifest as pollution, congestion and slum formation.

Option A:
Incorrect; air quality usually deteriorates rather than uniformly improving when urban growth is unplanned.

Option B:
Incorrect; per capita waste generation tends to increase with urban incomes and consumption, straining waste management systems.

Option C:
Correct; it summarises the typical environmental and social stresses—pollution and slum growth—associated with uncontrolled urban expansion.

Option D:
Incorrect; wetlands and green spaces are often encroached upon or degraded rather than automatically restored.