Consider the following States:

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Tropical wet evergreen forests need very heavy rainfall and warmth. In India they occur in the Western Ghats, the north-eastern hills and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram both have them. Himachal Pradesh has none: its forests run from Sal and dry deciduous types in the foothills through Chir pine, oak and deodar forests up to alpine forests.

• ✓ 1. Forest Survey of India lists Assam Valley Tropical Wet Evergreen Forest (Dipterocarpus), type 1B/C1, among the forest types of Arunachal Pradesh.
• ✗ 2. Himachal Pradesh's forest-type table begins with Group 3 types: Bhabar-Dun Sal Forest, then Khair-sissu Forest and dry deciduous scrub. It goes on through pine and temperate forests to alpine types. It has no Group 1 (Tropical Wet Evergreen) entry, so the state has none.
• ✓ 3. Forest Survey of India's report on Mizoram describes the state's tropical wet-evergreen forests, with Dipterocarpus turbinatus and Mesua ferrea in the top canopy.
• ✓ (c) Only 1 and 3 are right. Option (d) is the tempting wrong choice. Himachal Pradesh has plenty of forest, but none of it is the tropical wet evergreen type, which needs over 200 cm of rain and constant warmth.

Remember · Tropical wet evergreen forests (over 200 cm rain, mean temperature above 22°C) occur in the Western Ghats, the north-eastern hills (including Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram) and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, not in Himachal Pradesh.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)

Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2015, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error