Which one of the following is correctly matched ?

The correct match is C) Sandi Wildlife Sanctuary : Hardoi. Sandi Sanctuary lies in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh, and the question tests whether you can pin a protected area to its district rather than to a neighbouring one.

• A is wrong: Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary is in Mahoba district, not Unnao. Bakhira is a wetland sanctuary known for its waterbirds.
• B is wrong: Okhla Bird Sanctuary is in Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida) on the Yamuna floodplain, not in Lalitpur. Lalitpur is in the Bundelkhand region.
• D is wrong: Mahavir Swami Wildlife Sanctuary is in Lalitpur district, not Basti. The pairing in D reverses the correct district.

The core concept is the distribution of protected areas under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and state-level sanctuary notifications. For Mains (GS-III, environment and biodiversity), this helps you link protected areas to habitat types, such as wetlands, floodplains and Bundelkhand's dry deciduous forests.

Trap: Candidates often rely on the name's regional feel. Bakhira and Mahavir Swami sound like Bundelkhand names, so the pairing gets scrambled. Keep a district-wise list of UP's sanctuaries and verify each one, since district boundaries and reorganisations can change over time.