GS4 · UPSC Mains

After an unexpected breach in a major dam upstream, the district of Neelgram has been hit by sudden flooding, which not only damaged standing crops but also contaminated most local water sources with silt and debris. Ananya, a young Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) recently transferred to Neelgram, has ordered emergency measures to ration and purify the remaining potable water and clamp down on illegal extraction of groundwater to ensure enough safe water for drinking and health camps. However, when her enforcement teams start sealing unauthorized borewells on farmland to prevent further depletion, a large group of distressed farmers storms her office, accusing her of double standards for ignoring the big bottled water companies and luxury housing societies on the town's outskirts that continue tapping deep aquifers around the clock under old permits allegedly renewed through bribes. The farmers claim they are being pushed to ruin just to keep swimming pools full and bottled water businesses profitable. Meanwhile, local hotels warn that shutting their supply will lead to layoffs of hundreds of daily-wage workers already reeling from the flood damage. Political leaders privately pressurize Ananya to avoid any action that might anger influential industrialists and real estate developers. To complicate matters further, she discovers some lower-rung officials have been pocketing hush money to overlook illegal borewells. With rural families queuing up for clean water tankers and local schools forced to close due to unsafe drinking water, Ananya must now grapple with the ethical dilemma of conserving critical water reserves, enforcing rules impartially, protecting poor farmers' livelihoods, resisting powerful vested interests, ensuring continued employment for daily-wage workers, and upholding public trust in the administration during a fragile recovery phase. (a) Identify and discuss the major ethical dilemmas faced by Ananya. (b) Briefly describe major laws or policies enacted by the Government of India to ensure sustainable water management. (c) Suggest a balanced course of action that Ananya can adopt to ensure equitable water distribution, prevent misuse of groundwater, protect vulnerable livelihoods, and restore public trust. (20 marks, 250 words)

20 marks · 250 words · 6 toppers answered this

GS4 · Case studies on the above issues GS4 · Public/civil service values & ethics in public administration — status & problems; ethical concerns & dilemmas; conflict of interest

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