Bhola's Himalayan Eco-Tourism Case Study
XAT 2010 · DM · Medium · Decision Making
Passage / data set
Read the following case and choose the best alternative Guruji's guidance.
Bhola, an avid nature lover, wanted to be an entrepreneur. He dreamt of establishing a chain of huts in Chatpur region to cater to tourists, who came attracted by the beauty and splendour of the Himalayas.
However, he was appalled by current degradation of the Himalayan environment. He remembered the early times when everything was so green, clean and peaceful. Now, greenery was replaced by buildings, peace was shattered by honking of vehicles and flocking of tourists, and cleanliness was replaced by heaps of plastics.
Bhola had a strong sense of right and wrong. On speaking to few locals about the issue, he realized that the locals were aware of these issues. However, they pointed out the benefits of development: pucca houses for locals, higher disposable income and with that, ability to send their children to better schools and colleges, better road connectivity, and access to latest technology in agriculture. Most locals wanted the development to continue.
Saddened by the lack of support from the locals, Bhola took up the issue with the government. He met the chief minister of the state to find out if government could regulate the developmental activities to prevent environmental degradation. However, the chief minister told Bhola that such an action would slow down the economic progress. That also meant loss of substantial tax revenues for the government.
Bhola needed to resolve the dilemma. Bhola always wanted to be an entrepreneur, who could contribute to the society and earn money as well. However, his business would also be responsible for destroying environment. If he did not set up His business, he would not be able to earn money and contribute to the society.
After mulling over the issues, he went to his mentor "Guruji". Guruji realized that it was really a difficult puzzle: if one saves the environment, there seems to be no development and if the people and the government sought development, the environment and hence future of this planet and human beings was at stake. After careful thought, he felt that the dilemma could be resolved. He fixed up a meeting with Bhola to answer Bhola's queries.
Question 1 of 4
Should Bhola still think of doing business?
- A.
Yes, where there is a will, there is a way.
- B.
No, saving the Earth for our children is more important than earning money.
- C.
Yes, Bhola should do business while ensuring no environmental damage is done.
- D.
Yes, but only if the government puts strict environment regulations in place.
- E.
Bhola should stop thinking about such a dilemma.
Question 2 of 4
Bhola wanted to advise the government about the new tourism policy. Bhola had developed a few alternatives as given below. Choose the best alternative.
- A.
Stop environmental degradation by stopping the developmental activities.
- B.
Forget about the environment; think about the people as they are the vote banks for politician to come back to power.
- C.
Suggest that the government should try to promote eco-tourism, which would be controlled and regulated by the government, as the government could think about the welfare of majority of stakeholders.
- D.
Suggest that the government should promote eco-tourism with public private partnership with the involvement of NGO's, so that there are checks and balances for inefficiencies and promotion for synergetic efforts between government and private entrepreneurs.
- E.
Involvement of impartial entities like NGO's who would provide a fair assessment of the policies.
Question 3 of 4
Bhola wished he was heading the government. He had listed down five concrete measures he would take if he were to head the government. Choose the best alternative.
- A.
Charge environmental cess from all businesses operating out of Himalayas.
- B.
Charge cess from anyone who pollutes the environment, it be citizens or industries and reward those who have contributed to afforestation the most.
- C.
All profit making organizations have to take responsibility of afforestation proportionate to their profitability.
- D.
Think about maximising the revenues and forget about the environment.
- E.
Institute a Green Valley Reward, which would be given to businesses highly active in afforestation efforts.
Question 4 of 4
Visualising he was heading the state government, Bhola thought of a likely problematic situation. Five years have passed. In these five years, Bhola has initiated a lot of pro-environment steps, including making people aware of the fact that it was this pristine environment which brought in tourists in the first place. Now he faced state elections. The opposition accused him of stopping development and causing unemployment under the guise of environment protection. If Bhola were to consider this accusation as a short-term battle, which option would Guruji suggest to Bhola to score a quick win?
- A.
Accuse the opposition of having vested interests as the opposition leaders were denied licences for opening new hotels.
- B.
Point out the improvement in environment since the implementation of pro- environment policies.
- C.
Compare the unemployment levels since the implementation of the pro- environment policies and if they are less, accuse the opposition of making baseless charges.
- D.
Point out that this government had initiated a regular cleaning-up drive and the opposition did not consider the data regarding the people who were employed in that drive.
- E.
Call the charges as baseless accusations being used to malign the good work he had done.
Practise this under exam conditions
Sign in to solve it with a live timer, the on-screen CAT calculator, and streak and accuracy tracking across every question you attempt.
Solve in the workspace