India's urbanisation growth story stinks
India is witnessing rapid urbanisation but there is no planning and citizen exhibit utter disregard for sanitation. This will lead to huge social cost in terms of poor health of work force and increase in sick people.
A report by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, released this month (July 2013), has vast data on sanitation and other aspects related to urbanisation, including access to housing, basic amenities and health indicators.
The number of households without drainage facility has gone up by 2.5 million over the past 10 years, according to the statistical compendium of urban indicators. The report has been compiled on the basis of information in Census 2011 and Census 2001, apart from results of surveys of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSS) and other sources.
The report, however, has some good news around this saniation needs. It says the overall percentage of such houses without drainage has gone down.
The number of houses with "no drainage" had gone up from 11.88 million in 2001 to 14.38 million in 2011. But, their percentage has gone down from 22.1 percent to 14.38 percent.
There
is
a
similar
increase
in
the
number
of
urban
households
whose
dwellings
were
"dilapidated".
It
was
1.93
million
in
2001
and
2.27
million
in
2011.
However,
their
percentage
fell
from
3.6
percent
to
2.9
percent.
There was marginal decline in households without latrines with their numbers going down from 14.11 million in 2001 to 14.7 million in 2011.
Spending on education very low in rural India
Households in 18 of 35 states and Union territories spent more on paan, tobacco and alcohol than education on an average a month in rural areas in 2011-12 (July-June), according to the 68th round of the NSS.
There are some surprises such as Gujarat, Mizoram and Lakshadweep, as these have banned the sale and consumption of liquor.
In
Gujarat,
a
household
spent
Rs
44
on
intoxicants
and
Rs
34.09
on
education
on
an
average
in
a
month
in
2011-12.
The
situation
was,
better
in
2009-10,
when
expenditure
on
education
was
Rs
26.08
and
on
intoxicants
Rs
31.87.
In
Odisha,
the
spending
on
education
doubled
to
Rs
20
per
household
in
2011-12
from
Rs
10
in
2004-05
but
on
intoxicants
increased
to
Rs
30
from
Rs
10.
Tobacco products and alcohol dented a rural household's pocket by Rs 75.41 in Rajasthan, while education got only Rs 64.66 in 2011-12.
In
Jharkhand,
the
sending
on
intoxicants
was
Rs
32.15
against
Rs
21.61
education
expenditure
a
month
in
2011-12.
In
the
NSS,
education
not
only
includes
tuition
fees
or
admission
fees
but
also
library
fees,
and
expenditure
on
newspapers,
books,
magazines
and
journals.
Taking rural India as a whole, there was only a marginal difference between the monthly spending of households on intoxicants and education.
Rural India had spent Rs 45.93 monthly on tobacco and alcohol and just an 8.8 per cent higher sum at Rs 49.97 on education in 2011-12.
Over the years, this situation has not improved much. In 2009-10, rural households spent Rs 31.11 on tobacco and alcohol, and Rs 37.79 on education.
OneIndia News