Important Dams and Projects

The governing concept is the association of major multipurpose dams with the rivers on which they are constructed. Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River in Odisha. It is a major project used for purposes such as flood moderation, irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. Thus, option A, Mahanadi, is correct. Sutlej is associated with projects such as Bhakra, Krishna with several large projects in peninsular India, and Damodar with the Damodar Valley system. Those rivers may also have important dams, but none of those pairings identifies Hirakud. Linking each major dam with its river and region is the safest way to solve such questions.

The governing concept is the identification of a major river-valley project through its associated river. The Sardar Sarovar Project is constructed on the Narmada River, chiefly in the western part of India, and is connected with irrigation, water supply and hydroelectric development. Therefore, option A, Narmada, is correct. The Brahmaputra is a separate Himalayan river system in the northeast, Ghaghara is a tributary of the Ganga, and Betwa is a tributary of the Yamuna. These distractors are important Indian rivers, but none is the river on which the Sardar Sarovar Project stands. A reliable recall pair is: Sardar Sarovar—Narmada; the project should not be confused with other dam projects on the Tapi, Krishna or Godavari systems.

The governing concept is the association of a major Indian dam with its river and regional setting. Almatti Dam is constructed on the Krishna River in Karnataka, so option A, Krishna, is correct. The project is part of the Krishna basin and is important for irrigation, water management and power-related development in the region. Kaveri is a different southern river system, Sabarmati is mainly associated with Gujarat and Rajasthan, and Jhelum belongs to the Himalayan Indus drainage system. Although all four are genuine Indian rivers, only Krishna gives the correct dam-river pairing. A useful revision method is to learn projects as linked facts: Almatti—Krishna—Karnataka.

The Son River is the correct answer because the Bansagar Project, including the Bansagar Dam, is constructed across the Son River in the eastern part of the Vindhyan region. It is a major multipurpose water-resource project associated with irrigation, water supply and power generation, and its benefits extend across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Sabarmati is a western Indian river, Vaigai is associated with Tamil Nadu, and Teesta belongs to the Himalayan eastern river system. Therefore, option A correctly links the project with its river and is the only suitable choice.

The correct answer is Sutlej. The Bhakra Nangal Project is a major multipurpose river-valley project constructed on the Sutlej River in the northern part of India. Its reservoir, Bhakra Dam, is associated with the Sutlej, while the Nangal works form part of the wider project system downstream. The project supports irrigation, hydroelectric power generation and regulation of river water. Thus option D is correct. Ravi, Beas and Chenab are also important rivers of the Indus basin, so they are plausible distractors, but they are not the river directly associated with the Bhakra Nangal Project. Remembering the pairing “Bhakra–Sutlej” prevents confusion with other Punjab and Himalayan river projects.

The correct answer is Tapi, also called the Tapti. Ukai Dam is a major multipurpose project built across the Tapi River in Gujarat. The reservoir is used for irrigation, hydroelectric power generation and control of river flows, making the project important for the region’s agriculture and water management. Therefore, option B is correct. Narmada is associated with major projects such as Sardar Sarovar, while Mahi and Sabarmati are separate rivers of western India with different courses and projects. The governing concept is the association of important dams with the rivers on which they are built. The useful examination pair is “Ukai–Tapi”; confusing it with Sardar Sarovar or other Gujarat-region projects leads to an incorrect answer.

The correct answer is Krishna. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is a major multipurpose dam constructed across the Krishna River in the southern Deccan region. The project provides irrigation water and hydroelectric power and is important for agriculture in areas of present-day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Hence option A is correct. Godavari is another major peninsular river with separate projects, while Tungabhadra is a tributary of the Krishna and Kaveri belongs to a different river system. These similarities make the alternatives plausible, but they do not change the direct association of Nagarjuna Sagar with the Krishna. The key examination fact is the pair “Nagarjuna Sagar–Krishna River.”

The correct answer is Rihand. Rihand Dam, also called Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar, was constructed across the Rihand River in present-day Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. The Rihand is an important tributary of the Son River, so the project is also connected with the wider Ganga drainage system. Son, Ken, and Betwa are separate rivers: the Son receives the Rihand, whereas Ken and Betwa are important tributaries of the Yamuna. The wording asks for the river on which the dam stands, not the larger river system, making option A more precise than option B.

The correct answer is Subansiri. The Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project is constructed on the Subansiri River near the boundary of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Subansiri is one of the important northern tributaries of the Brahmaputra and descends from the Himalayan region before entering Assam. Manas, Dibang, and Lohit are also significant tributaries within the Brahmaputra drainage network, which makes them plausible distractors, but the project name itself identifies the river on which it is located. The word “Lower” refers to the lower section of the Subansiri River, not to another tributary or a different river system.

Option D is correct because the Almatti Dam is built across the Krishna River in Karnataka. It is an important multipurpose project associated with irrigation and water management in the Krishna basin. The dam should not be confused with projects on the Tungabhadra, Kaveri or Godavari. Tungabhadra is itself a tributary of the Krishna, and a separate dam exists on that river, which makes option B a plausible distractor. Kaveri and Godavari belong to different major river systems of peninsular India. The governing identification rule is to connect Almatti with the upper Krishna basin and northern Karnataka; therefore, Krishna is the only correct answer.

Option A is correct because the Tungabhadra River is a major tributary of the Krishna River, and the Tungabhadra Dam is built on this tributary. The project is located in the southern Deccan region and supports irrigation, power generation and water management. The river system is determined by the parent river into which a tributary drains, so Tungabhadra belongs to the Krishna basin rather than the Ganga, Narmada or Brahmaputra basins. The Ganga and Brahmaputra systems are primarily associated with northern and northeastern drainage, while Narmada is a west-flowing central Indian river. Thus, the Krishna system is the precise answer.

Option A is correct because the Ken–Betwa Link Project is designed around transferring water between the Ken and Betwa river basins in the Bundelkhand region. The project is part of India’s interlinking initiatives and is intended to address water availability and irrigation concerns in a drought-prone area. Ken and Betwa are separate rivers that ultimately belong to the wider Yamuna drainage system, but the project name directly identifies the two rivers being connected. Narmada–Tapi, Ganga–Brahmaputra and Krishna–Kaveri are different river pairs and are not the pair named in this project. The simplest verification is to match both words in the project title with option A.

The Bhakra-Nangal Project is a major multipurpose river-valley project on the Sutlej River, so option A is correct. The Bhakra Dam is constructed across the Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh, while the associated Nangal works are located downstream in Punjab. The project supports irrigation, hydroelectric power generation, and regulation and distribution of river water for parts of northwestern India. To answer the question, the project name must be matched with its river rather than with a state or a nearby canal. Gandak, Pennar, and Mahi are important Indian rivers, but the Bhakra-Nangal Project is not situated on any of them. The river-project association is a standard fact of Indian geography and does not require numerical calculation.