Which of the following pairs are correctly matched? 1) Idukki: Thermal Power Station 2) Sabarigiri: Hydroelectric project 3) Ghatprabha: Irrigation project 4) Ramganga: Multipurpose project

The correct answer is A. Statements 2, 3 and 4 are correctly matched, and statement 1 is not.

• Idukki (1) is wrong. It is a hydroelectric project on the Periyar river in Kerala, built around a large arch dam. It is not a thermal power station.
• Sabarigiri (2) is correct. It is a hydroelectric project on the Pamba river in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala.
• Ghatprabha (3) is correct. It is an irrigation project on the Ghataprabha, a tributary of the Krishna in Karnataka, centred on the Hidkal dam.
• Ramganga (4) is correct. The Ramganga Multipurpose Project is built across the Ramganga, a tributary of the Ganga, at Kalagarh, and serves irrigation, power and flood control.

The core concept is the classification of river valley projects: hydroelectric, irrigation, multipurpose and thermal. For Mains, this links to the debate on large dams, displacement and the trade-off between power and irrigation.

Trap: candidates tend to reject Idukki because they picture a large dam as a thermal plant, or reject Ghatprabha because it is labelled only as irrigation, not hydro. Match each project to its primary purpose and river, not to the size of the structure.