The Chotanagpur Plateau is considered an eastern extension of the Central Highlands.

Question

Read the following Assertion (A) and Reason (R) carefully and choose the correct option:

Assertion (A): The Chotanagpur Plateau is considered an eastern extension of the Central Highlands.

Reason (R): The Chotanagpur Plateau is drained primarily by the Chambal and Betwa rivers.

1. A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
2. B. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
3. C. A is true, but R is false (Correct answer)
4. D. A is false, but R is true

Correct Answer

Option C — A is true, but R is false

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is A is true, but R is false.

Key Points

• Assertion is true. The Chotanagpur Plateau, spread over Jharkhand, southern Bihar, western West Bengal and parts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, is treated as the eastern extension of the Central Highlands.
• Reason is false. The Chambal and Betwa are tributaries of the Yamuna draining the Malwa Plateau, far to the west. Chotanagpur is drained by the Damodar, Subarnarekha, North Koel, South Koel and Barakar.
• The Damodar flows through a rift valley across the plateau and, for its coal-bearing basin and past flooding, was known as the "Sorrow of Bengal" before the Damodar Valley Corporation (1948).
• Chotanagpur holds India's richest concentration of coal, iron ore, mica, bauxite and copper, which is why it is called the "Ruhr of India".

Additional Information

• The Central Highlands lie north of the Narmada and include the Malwa Plateau, Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand, with the Chotanagpur Plateau as their eastern extension.
• The Deccan Plateau lies south of the Narmada, bounded by the Western and Eastern Ghats and sloping generally eastward, which is why most peninsular rivers drain to the Bay of Bengal.
• Peninsular rivers flowing west are the exceptions worth naming: the Narmada and Tapi, both occupying rift valleys and forming estuaries rather than deltas.

प्रश्न (हिन्दी में)

निम्नलिखित अभिकथन (A) और कारण (R) को ध्यानपूर्वक पढ़ें और सही विकल्प चुनें: अभिकथन (A): छोटानागपुर पठार को मध्य उच्चभूमि का पूर्वी विस्तार माना जाता है। कारण (R): छोटानागपुर पठार का जल-अपवाह मुख्यतः चंबल और बेतवा नदियों द्वारा होता है।

1. A. A और R दोनों सत्य हैं, और R, A का सही स्पष्टीकरण है
2. B. A और R दोनों सत्य हैं, लेकिन R, A का सही स्पष्टीकरण नहीं है
3. C. A सत्य है, लेकिन R असत्य है
4. D. A असत्य है, लेकिन R सत्य है