Vital stats about Drinking Water, Sanitation and Housing in India

The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) of Indian Govt has recently released the key figures and  vital statistics about drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing condition in India. The Data for this purpose was during July 2012 to December 2012.

Housing is a basic necessity of human well-being. Along with the need for a shelter, other facilities in the micro-environment of housing, e.g. type of dwelling unit, drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, etc., constitute vital components of overall quality of life of the population. The objective of the NSS 69^thround survey on ‘Drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing condition’ was to collect information on the different aspects of living conditions of Indian population necessary for decent and healthy living, and also to develop suitable indicators to assess the situation.

On drinking water, information collected in the survey included (i) sources and sufficiency of drinking water, (ii) distance to the source of drinking water and (iii) quality of drinking water.  On the sanitation facilities, several pertinent information viz. (i) availability of bathroom (ii) availability of latrine and its type, etc. were collected. Some information on micro-environment surrounding the dwelling unit, e.g. garbage disposal, drainage arrangement, and problem of flies/mosquitoes, availability of electricity were also collected. Other relevant information on housing condition covered age of the house, condition of the house, type of the dwelling unit, floor area of the dwelling unit, etc.

The survey covered the whole of the Indian Union. The key results of the survey are based on the central sample consisting of 4,475 villages in rural areas and 3,522 urban blocks spread over all States and Union Territories. The total number of households surveyed was 95,548 (53,393 in rural areas and 42,155 in urban areas).

Some salient findings of the survey regarding drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing condition in India during 2012  are as follows:

• About 88.5 percent households in rural India had improved source of drinking water while the corresponding figure was 95.3 percent in urban India. 

• Among rural households, 85.8 percent had sufficient drinking water and for urban India the corresponding figure was 89.6 percent.

• Percentage of households who got drinking water facilities within premises was 46.1 percent in rural India and 76.8 percent in urban India. 

• About 62.3 percent of rural households and 16.7 percent of urban households did not have any bathroom facility.  

• 59.4 percent and 8.8 percent households in rural India and urban India respectively had no latrine facilities.  

• Among the households having latrine facilities, 31.9 percent and 63.9 percent households in rural India and urban India respectively had access to its exclusive use. 

• About 38.8  percent and 89.6 percent households in rural and urban India respectively had access to ‘improved’^  type of latrine. 

• 80.0 percent of rural households and 97.9 percent of urban households had electricity for domestic use.  

• 94.2 percent households in rural India had secured tenure in their dwelling.  In urban India, the corresponding figure was 71.3 percent. 

• 65.8 percent of rural households and 93.6 percent of urban households lived in a house with pucca structure whereas 24.6 percent of rural households and 5.0 percent of urban households lived in a house with semi-pucca structure during 2012. 

• Only 26.3 percent and 47.1 percent households in rural India and urban India respectively had dwelling units with ‘good ventilation’. 

• 31.7 percent of rural households and 82.5 percent of urban households had ‘improved drainage’ facility in the environment of their dwelling units. 

• In rural India 32.0 percent households had some garbage disposal arrangement, whereas in urban areas the corresponding figure was 75.8 percent. 

• Only 10.8 percent of urban dwelling units were situated in slum.
• Among the households living in slums/squatter settlements, percentage of households who tried to move out of slums/squatter settlements were 8.5 percent, 4.9 percent and 6.9 percent in case of notified slums, non-notified slums and squatter settlements respectively.

• At all-India level, 70.8 percent 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 percent households had identified ‘proximity to place of work’ as the main reason.