“The Himalayas are highly prone to landslides.” Discuss the causes and suggest suitable measures of mitigation.

Theme

T27 Landslides in the Himalayas & Western Ghats

What UPSC asks in this theme

A cross-paper theme: GS1 asks why landslides are more frequent in the Himalayas than the Western Ghats; GS3 asks causes, effects and the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy.

What to cover

• Himalayas: young fold mountains, seismicity, rainfall, road-cutting, deforestation
• Western Ghats: heavy rainfall, laterite soil, quarrying, plantations
• NLRMS components: hazard mapping, early warning, awareness, mountain zone regulations
• Mitigation: slope stabilisation, drainage, afforestation, building codes

Writing the answer

• Comparison questions need a side-by-side of causes
• End with a mitigation framework linked to NDMA

These notes are for the whole theme, built from all 4 of its PYQs. UPSC does not publish model answers.