In which one of the following environments does one expect the presence of dispersed rural settlements?

The correct answer is Forests and hills in the northeast.

Key Points

Dispersed or scattered settlements 

• Dispersed Settlements Dispersed or isolated settlement pattern in India appears in the form of isolated huts or hamlets of few huts in remote jungles, or on small hills with farms or pasture on the slopes.
• Extreme dispersion of settlement is often caused by the extremely fragmented nature of the terrain and land resource base of habitable areas.
• Many areas of Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala have this type of settlement.
• Villages having dispersed or scattered settlements have farmstead scattered over a much wider area.
• It reflects poor hydrology and land capability.
• The number of houses per unit area in these types of settlements is very low and there is a wide gap between the houses.
• Such Rural Settlements are the characteristics of deserts/semi-arid land with poor land capability or regions affected by natural hazards.
• Such villages are common in:
  • Areas of extreme climate
  • Hilly tracts, Hence, Option 4 is correct.
  • Deserts
  • Thick forests
  • Grasslands
  • Areas of extensive agriculture.
  • Poor agriculture land
• Areas where farmers need to live on agricultural land rather than distant village settlement
• The dispersed Rural Settlements are usually of recent age since people are moving away from dense settlements in the search of new spaces.
• With the development of technology, people have found a way to live in deserts also.
• Semi-desert regions of Rajasthan, forest lands of North East India, Shiwaliks, Jammu, and Kashmir, and parts of Peninsular India also have dispersed types of settlements.
• The Western Ghats in the rain shadow area, Leh-Ladhak, Kutchh, and Western Rajasthan has dispersed settlement types