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HCS (Haryana)Stage 2: Main Written Examination

Haryana: Geography and Natural Resources

What the official syllabus says

General Studies-I (Paper III), Main Written Examination:

  • Related issues of Haryana.

The same line closes General Studies-II and General Studies-III, where it covers Haryana’s polity, governance, economy, agriculture, environment and security. The Preliminary Examination’s General Studies paper has:

  • Haryana-Economy and people. Social, economic and culture institutions and language of Haryana.

In General Studies-I, “related issues of Haryana” means the Haryana side of this paper’s subjects: the state’s history, art and culture, society and geography. This page covers one of them.

Topics in detail

Location and extent

  • Area about 44,212 square kilometres, about 1.3 per cent of India
  • Neighbouring states and Union Territories; the Yamuna as the eastern boundary; Delhi, which Haryana surrounds on three sides; Chandigarh, the shared capital
  • Administrative divisions and districts (learn the current list; it changes)

Physical divisions

  • The Shivalik hills in the north-east (Panchkula, Yamunanagar): the Morni hills and Karoh peak, the state’s highest point
  • The foothill belt (bhabar and tarai)
  • The Ghaggar-Yamuna plain: khadar (new alluvium) and bangar (old alluvium)
  • The sandy semi-desert plain of the west and south-west (Sirsa, Hisar, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Mahendragarh)
  • The Aravalli hills in the south (Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh, Rewari, Mahendragarh)

Rivers, canals and lakes

  • The Yamuna: the only perennial river; the Hathnikund barrage
  • The Ghaggar and its tributaries (Markanda, Tangri, Kaushalya); the Ottu barrage in Sirsa; the Kaushalya dam
  • The Saraswati: the seasonal stream at Adi Badri and the revival efforts
  • Southern streams: the Sahibi (Masani barrage), Dohan, Krishnavati, Indori
  • Canals: the Western Yamuna Canal, the Bhakra canal system, the Jawaharlal Nehru and Loharu lift canals, the Agra and Gurugram canals; the unfinished Sutlej-Yamuna Link
  • Lakes and wetlands: Sultanpur and Bhindawas (Ramsar sites), Badkhal, Damdama, Tikkar Tal, Brahma Sarovar

Climate

  • A continental monsoon climate: hot summers with loo and dust storms, cold winters with frost
  • Monsoon rain decreasing from the Shivalik foothills towards the dry south-west; winter rain from western disturbances
  • Heat waves, cold waves and droughts

Soils

  • Alluvial soils of the plains, sandy soils of the south-west, hill soils
  • Saline and alkaline (kallar) soils and waterlogging; their reclamation

Forests and wildlife

  • Low forest cover; Shivalik forests, Aravalli scrub, trees such as khejri, kikar, sheesham, neem
  • State symbols: the blackbuck (animal), the black francolin (bird), the peepal (tree), the lotus (flower)
  • Protected areas: Kalesar and Sultanpur National Parks; sanctuaries such as Bhindawas, Khaparwas and Bir Shikargah
  • The vulture conservation breeding centre at Pinjore

Minerals and energy

  • Limited minerals: limestone, dolomite, slate, quartzite, china clay, building stone and sand
  • Mining in the Aravallis and the restrictions on it
  • Thermal power stations (Panipat, Yamunanagar, Hisar, Jhajjar), the Gorakhpur nuclear power project (Fatehabad), solar energy

Location of industries

  • Gurugram and Manesar: automobiles and IT services
  • Faridabad: engineering; Panipat: textiles, handloom and the oil refinery
  • Yamunanagar-Jagadhri: plywood, paper, metal utensils; Ambala: scientific instruments
  • Bahadurgarh: footwear; Sonipat and Kundli: manufacturing; Hisar: steel
  • Why industry clusters near Delhi: market, transport, labour

Hazards and environmental change

  • Earthquake risk: where the state’s districts fall on India’s seismic zoning map
  • Floods of the Yamuna, Ghaggar and Markanda; drought in the south-west
  • Falling groundwater in paddy-growing districts; waterlogging and salinity in others
  • Air pollution and crop-residue burning; Yamuna pollution; degradation of the Aravallis

Overlaps

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