36Directions: Study the passage carefully and answer the given questions. In…
2025
36
Directions: Study the passage carefully and answer the given questions.
In recent years, urban centers across the country have experienced a sharp increase in air pollution levels, largely due to rapid urbanization, growing vehicular traffic, and increased construction activity. Despite the introduction of emission norms and periodic restrictions on vehicle usage, pollution levels often exceed safe limits, especially during winter months. Public transport systems in many cities remain inadequate, leading to heavy dependence on private vehicles. Additionally, awareness campaigns on pollution control have had limited impact due to inconsistent enforcement and lack of coordination among local authorities. Health experts have repeatedly warned that prolonged exposure to polluted air can lead to serious respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, particularly affecting children and the elderly. Given these challenges, city administrations are under increasing pressure to adopt more effective and sustainable measures to address the worsening air quality.
Which of the following would be the most appropriate course of action based on the passage?
- A.
Impose an immediate and permanent ban on all private vehicles in urban areas.
- B.
Strengthen public transport infrastructure and ensure strict enforcement of emission regulations.
- C.
Ignore short-term pollution spikes and focus only on long-term urban expansion.
- D.
Shift all administrative offices to rural areas to reduce urban population density.
- E.
Conduct awareness campaigns without implementing any regulatory measures.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept: In a 'course of action' question, the correct choice must be a practical, feasible step that directly follows from the cause(s) explicitly stated in the passage -- it should be neither an extreme, disproportionate measure (a total ban, a mass relocation) nor a case of remaining passive (ignoring the problem, or relying on a measure the passage has already shown to fall short on its own). A valid course of action addresses the specific causes named in the passage, not a loosely related idea.
Application: The passage names two specific causes behind the persistently poor air quality -- (1) public transport systems are 'inadequate,' forcing heavy reliance on private vehicles, and (2) enforcement of emission norms is inconsistent, so both the periodic restrictions and the awareness campaigns have had only limited effect. A course of action that resolves the problem must target exactly these two causes: strengthening public transport (removing the need to depend on private vehicles) and strictly enforcing the emission regulations (fixing the inconsistent-enforcement gap). Strengthening public transport infrastructure and ensuring strict enforcement of emission regulations does both.
An immediate, permanent ban on all private vehicles is an extreme, impractical step -- the passage itself notes that public transport remains inadequate, so removing private vehicles entirely first, without a working alternative, is not feasible.
Ignoring short-term pollution spikes contradicts the passage, which explicitly states that levels exceed safe limits in winter and that health experts warn of serious respiratory and cardiovascular risks -- a valid course of action cannot be to do nothing about a stated, urgent problem.
Shifting all administrative offices to rural areas addresses population density, not the causes the passage names (vehicular traffic and construction activity) -- it is an out-of-scope, unsupported measure.
Running awareness campaigns without any regulatory measure repeats exactly the approach the passage says has already had 'limited impact... due to inconsistent enforcement' -- so it does not fix the identified gap.
Only strengthening public transport together with strict enforcement of emission norms addresses both root causes the passage identifies, making it the most appropriate course of action.