UPSC Mains 2026 GS4 Q1b: model answer
A business house is working on a project that could displace a forest community from their habitat. As the administrative officer of that district, what ethical challenges are you likely to face?
What the question wants
List and explain the ethical dilemmas the officer faces: development vs rights, law vs pressure, consent, rehabilitation, neutrality.
How to structure it
Intro: the setting. Body: 5-6 dilemmas, each with a line on why it is hard. Conclusion: the guiding principle.
- 15-6 dilemmas, each with a line on why it is hard
Model answer
As district officer I would be caught between a project that promises jobs and revenue and a community whose home, livelihood and culture depend on the forest.
Ethical challenges
- Development vs rights: growth for many against the survival of a few. Utilitarian arithmetic can hide a deep injustice.
- Free, prior and informed consent: under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and PESA, gram sabha consent is required. Pressure to 'manage' the gram sabha would test my integrity.
- Political and corporate pressure: calls to speed up clearances or overlook pending forest-rights claims.
- Fair rehabilitation: the LARR Act, 2013 requires social impact assessment and resettlement, but cash compensation rarely replaces a forest way of life.
- Information asymmetry: the community may not understand the project's terms; I must ensure they do.
- Neutrality vs empathy: I must be fair to the company too, not a campaigner.
My guide would be the law applied honestly, with transparency, and Gandhi's talisman: how does this decision affect the weakest person here?
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
FPIC Forest Rights Act LARR Act 2013 social impact assessment Gandhi's talisman
Where most answers lose marks
- Writing what you would do instead of the challenges asked
- Ignoring legal safeguards
Question text as printed in the official UPSC question paper: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/QP-CSM-26-010926-GENERAL-STUDIES-PAPER-IV.pdf The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.