Prelims 2013 · archive
EasyContour bunding is a method of soil conservation used in:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) None of the above
Contour bunding is used on sloping, rolling land. Small embankments built along the contour stop rainwater from running down the slope and washing the soil away. It is not meant for wind-swept desert margins, flat flood plains or weedy scrublands, so none of the listed situations is correct.
- ✗ (a) Desert margins suffer wind erosion, which is countered by shelterbelts and vegetative cover. Contour bunds work against erosion by water flowing down a slope.
- ✗ (b) Low flat plains near streams have little slope for bunds to act on. Their main problem is flooding, which is handled by embankments and river-control works. Contour bunds are built across slopes to hold runoff.
- ✗ (c) Weed spread is a vegetation-management problem and has nothing to do with contour bunding. Bunds intercept runoff on sloping land.
- ✓ (d) Contour bunds are earthen or loose-boulder embankments built on the contour, across the slope, to intercept runoff and conserve soil and moisture. None of options (a) to (c) describes such sloping land.
Remember · Contour bunding and contour ploughing are for sloping land and check erosion by running water. They are not for wind erosion or flat flood plains.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 Contemporary India – II, Ch 1 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- Karnataka Watershed Development Department – Soil and Water Conservation (Contour Bunds) ↗ “These are trapezoidal earthen or loose-boulder embankments constructed on contour. These bunds intercept runoff and hold the water for subsequent absorption and there by conserve soil and moisture.”
- NCERT Class 10 · Contemporary India – II, Chapter 1 “Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the flow of water down the slopes. This is called contour ploughing.”
- FAO – Contour bunds and runoff management ↗ “Contour bunds are another important physical measure. These are earth banks, 1.5 to 2 m wide, forming buffer strips at 10 to 20 m intervals across the slope.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2013, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·