Role of green belt development purpose and advantage — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. A green belt differs from ordinary afforestation because:

   • It uses only exotic plant species
   • It exists to satisfy a specific regulatory or town-planning requirement (correct answer)
   • It must always be government-owned land
   • It has no environmental function at all

   Explanation. A green belt is a deliberately maintained zone tied to a specific regulatory or planning condition, unlike voluntary afforestation.

2. Which of the following is NOT a typical function of a green belt?

   • Absorbing air pollutants
   • Attenuating noise
   • Directly increasing industrial output (correct answer)
   • Restraining unplanned urban sprawl

   Explanation. A green belt has no function of increasing industrial output; its recognised functions are environmental and planning-related.

3. How is the size of the green belt around an industrial unit fixed?

   • By a fixed percentage in the Constitution
   • By each consent or clearance, which sets its own requirement (correct answer)
   • By the unit's owner alone
   • By the Reserve Bank of India

   Explanation. Each consent or clearance sets its own green-belt requirement, so a student should not quote a fixed percentage from memory.

4. A green belt condition is typically attached to which regulatory instrument?

   • A criminal FIR
   • The consent granted by the State Pollution Control Board, such as consent under section 25 of the Water Act or section 21 of the Air Act (correct answer)
   • A passport application
   • A property registration deed

   Explanation. A State Pollution Control Board may require a green belt when it gives consent or a no-objection certificate. Consent is required under section 25 of the Water Act, 1974 and section 21 of the Air Act, 1981.

5. Between an industrial zone and a residential zone, a green belt mainly:

   • Raises land prices
   • Keeps the two zones apart (correct answer)
   • Replaces the need for any consent
   • Increases industrial output

   Explanation. Between an industrial and a residential zone, a belt of thick planting keeps the two apart. Around a city, a ring of restricted land can check unplanned spread.

6. A green belt around an industry primarily helps reduce which of the following reaching nearby residential areas?

   • Import duties
   • Dust, gaseous pollutants and noise (correct answer)
   • Corporate tax liability
   • Labour costs

   Explanation. A green belt physically absorbs dust and gaseous pollutants and attenuates noise before it reaches nearby residential areas.

7. A green belt is usually required by:

   • A bank's loan condition
   • A consent condition, a court order or a town plan (correct answer)
   • An election rule
   • A company's annual report

   Explanation. A consent condition, a court order or a town plan usually requires a green belt. It supports pollution control but does not replace it.

8. A green belt should be correctly understood as:

   • A complete substitute for effluent treatment
   • One mitigation measure among several, not a stand-alone solution (correct answer)
   • A purely decorative feature with no legal basis
   • Mandatory only for government-owned industries

   Explanation. A green belt is treated as one condition among several (alongside effluent treatment, stack norms, etc.), not a substitute for controlling pollution at source.