Directions: Read the passage and answer the following questions. India will today (Oct. 31) unveil the world’s tallest statue, that of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a leading light of the country’s long freedom struggle against the British. Prime minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the t

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following questions.

India will today (Oct. 31) unveil the world’s tallest statue, that of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a leading light of the country’s long freedom struggle against the British. Prime minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the towering structure, located on an island along the Narmada river in the western state of Gujarat, on Patel’s 143rd birth anniversary. The statue is now the world’s tallest at 182 metres (597 feet) or nearly 100 times taller than someone 6 feet tall. Over the years, despite belonging to the rival Bharatiya Janata Party, Modi has been effusive in his praise for the leader, even accusing past governments and parties of trying to “run down” and erase Patel’s legacy. The construction of the statue was a pet project of the prime minister, who laid its foundation on Oct. 31, 2013, as chief minister of Gujarat. In the years since then, the enormous statue has been fraught with controversies. The Patel statue has also been heavily criticised by tribal communities living in the vicinity, who were displaced for the project. Around 1,500 people from a nearby village say they have lost their land and are yet to be compensated. Some 75,000 tribals have reportedly planned a mass protest on Oct. 31 against the inauguration. Gujarat’s farmers are also unhappy, struggling as they are with drought and diminishing incomes. They are aghast at the government splurging on a statue instead of improving their access to freshwater. The location of the statue was chosen based on its proximity to the Sardar Sarovar dam, originally envisioned by Patel himself. Inaugurated by Modi last year, the dam itself was mired in controversy for decades as activists and tribal communities raised concerns over its ecological consequences and loss of land. Activists also accused the government of embarking on the statue project without requisite environmental clearances or assessment. They argued that its construction violated the Environment Protection Act, 1986, and threatened the sensitive ecology and biodiversity of the area. The Statue of Unity, built at an estimated cost of Rs 2,989 crore, could have instead funded two new Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campuses, five Indian Institute of Management (IIM) campuses and six Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) missions to Mars. The statue’s construction cost is more than double the estimated amount for proposals submitted to the central government by the Gujarat government to include in Pradhanmantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (Prime Ministers Agriculture-Irrigation Scheme). The construction cost could have been used to irrigate 40,192 hectares of land, cover repair, renovation and restoration of 162 minor irrigation schemes and the construction of 425 small check-dams.

Which of the following is not a problem associated with the construction of the statue?
1). It has caused displacement of the local tribes.
2). It has led to clearing of the forest which existed and has caused drought in the neighbouring areas.
3). It has caused breach of environmental laws thereby causing more controversy.
4). It has deprived the farmers of money that could have been used to improve their impoverished condition during droughts.