State PCS - Uttarakhand (UKPSC)

• 14 Nov 2025

NGT Seeks Report on Waste Near Asan River, Dehradun

Why in News? 

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked Dehradun Municipal Corporation to submit a progress report on the clearance of legacy waste near the Asan River, following concerns about leachate entering the river’s floodplain. 

Key Points 

• About Asan River: 
  • The Asan River, also known as the Asan or Asan Barrage stream, originates near Mussoorie and flows through the Doon Valley before meeting the Yamuna River at the Asan Conservation Reserve near the Uttarakhand – Himachal border. 
  • The river is fed by natural springs and hill streams and plays an important role in maintaining the groundwater table and biodiversity of western Doon. 
  • The construction of the Asan Barrage (1967) created a reservoir that supports irrigation, hydropower generation (via the Kulhal and Khodri powerhouses), and bird habitats. 
  • It forms the Asan Wetland (Asan Conservation Reserve), Uttarakhand’s first Ramsar Site (2020), a key habitat for migratory birds such as ruddy shelduck, common pochard, Eurasian coot and bar-headed geese. 

• About Legacy waste: 
  • Legacy waste refers to decades-old accumulated waste in dumpsites/landfills, consisting of mixed municipal waste such as plastics, construction debris, organic matter, textiles, glass, metals and other inert materials. . 
  • These massive waste mounds cause methane emissions, frequent fires, foul odour, groundwater contamination, and vector-borne health risks. 
  • Scientific remediation of legacy waste involves bio-mining, bio-remediation, or bioremediation-cum-capping, which help reclaim valuable land, reduce pollution, improve urban public health, and support the environmental objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0. 

Booker Prize 2025

Why in News? 

Author David Szalay has won the 2025 Booker Prize for his fictional novel Flesh. 

Key Points 

• About the Winner: 
  • David Szalay is a Hungarian-British novelist known for his precise, economical prose and deep exploration of masculinity, identity, and contemporary European life. 
  • With Flesh, he reinforces his reputation as a writer who captures the inner lives of ordinary men with unusual clarity, situating their personal struggles against broader social and economic landscapes. 
• About Booker Prize: 
  • The Booker Prize (formerly the Man Booker Prize) is one of the world’s most prestigious literary awards. It was established in 1969 and is run by the Booker Prize Foundation. 
  • It honours the best original full-length novel written in English and published in the UK or Ireland. Writers of any nationality have been eligible to compete since 2014. 
  • The award aims to promote excellence in English-language fiction and encourage wider readership. 
  • Indian winners include Arundhati Roy (1997), Kiran Desai (2006), and Aravind Adiga (2008).

Difference Between Booker Prize & International Booker Prize 

• The Booker Prize was first awarded in 1969 and is for the best single work of fiction originally written in English.  
• The International Booker Prize was established later in 2005 and is for the best single work of fiction translated into English from any other language.   
• It recognizes the achievement of both the author and the translator.