Assam among worst performing states in access to tapped drinking water: NSSO

States like Assam, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha have emerged as the worst performers in access to tapped drinking water for both rural and urban households, states a report released by the National Statistical Office (NSSO).

According to the reports, less than 90 per cent of the people in Kerala, Manipur, Nagaland, and Jharkhand have access to improved drinking water sources. While Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha have the lowest proportion of rural households with access to an exclusive toilet.

The 78th round of the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) included the Multiple Indicator Survey (MIS). It was originally scheduled to take place in 2020, but due to the pandemic, it was postponed until August 15, 2021. Rural households made up 1.6 lakh of the respondents, while urban households made up another 1.1 lakh.

Over 95.7 per cent of people reported having access to an "improved source of drinking water," despite the fact that piped drinking water penetration is extremely low in many states. Water from packed bottles, water piped into a house, yard, or neighbor's yard, a public tap, a tube well, hand pump, covered well, tanker, and so on are all examples of this.

The percentage of such households is greater than 60 per cent in all other states. Over 30 per cent of households in the same three states lacked access to a toilet.

21.3 percent of rural households reported having no access to a latrine, whether it was exclusive or not. About 70 per cent of rural households reported having exclusive access to a latrine.
Based on a large survey, the report also reveals that almost half of rural households continue to cook with firewood as their primary fuel source.

16.18 percent of males and 43.8 per cent of females between the ages of 15 and 24 were not in school, working, or receiving training at the time of the survey.

Only half of all people over the age of 18 had full access to mobile phones. Nearly ninety percent of those surveyed reported having an account individually or jointly with banks, other financial institutions, or mobile money service providers, confirming the progress in financial inclusion in India.

More than 70 per cent of households in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Nagaland, and Madhya Pradesh use firewood as their primary cooking fuel. Less than 25 per cent of households in these states and Jharkhand use LPG for cooking, which is the lowest percentage among all states and UTs.

The highest percentage of men aged 15 to 24 who were not enrolled in education, employment, or training at the time of the survey is found in Delhi, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Kerala, and Delhi. Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Gujarat, West Bengal, and Bihar had the highest proportion of female residents.

In Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, less than a third of the population over the age of 18 has access to mobile phones exclusively.

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