No toilet facility for 60% rural population, says NSSO

As many as 60% rural households do not have access to toilet facility even after 66 years of independence, findings of the latest government survey revealed today.

 

The situation is however far better in urban India as only a less than 9% of the population lack the facility.

 

"59.4% and 8.8% households in rural and urban India respectively had no latrine facilities," National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) said.

 

Among the households having latrine facilities, 31.9% and 63.9% households in rural and urban India had access to its exclusive use, it added.

 

NSSO's data on 'Key Indicators of Drinking Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Housing Condition in India' survey covered 4,475 villages and 3,522 urban blocks during July - December 2012. The 69th round of survey encompassed a total of 95,548 households comprising 53,393 rural and 42,155 urban.

 

The survey results further revealed that about 88.5% households in rural and 95.3% in urban India had improved drinking water access.

 

Among rural households, 85.8% had sufficient drinking water and for urban India the sufficiency level was 89.6%.

 

"Percentage of households who got drinking water facilities within premises was 46.1% in rural India and 76.8% in urban India," NSSO said.

 

It further said that about 62.3% of rural households and 16.7% of urban households did not have any bathroom facilities.

 

On power availability, the data revealed that 80% rural households and 97.9% urban households had electricity for domestic use.

 

It also said that 94.2 percent households in rural India had secured tenure in their dwelling. In urban India, it was 71.3%.

 

Further, "65.8% of rural households and 93.6% of urban households lived in a house with pucca structure whereas 24.6% of rural households and 5% of urban households lived in a house with semi-pucca structure during 2012."

 

On drainage system, NSSO said 31.7% rural and 82.5% urban households had improved drainage facility. In rural households, 32% had some garbage disposal arrangement, whereas it was 75.8% in urban areas.

 

Indicating an improved living conditions in cities, NSSO said that only 10.8% urban dwelling were situated in slums.

 

"At all India level, 70.8% of households had cited better accommodation as the main reason for which they thought to move out of the slum/squatter settlement, whereas 11.7% households had identified proximity to place of work as the main reason," the data said.