70.5% of rural households in Kerala don’t have access to improved sources of water

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation Shri Bharatsinh Solanki informed the members of Lok Sabha in written reply to a question that as per NSSO 69th round report, 70.5% of the rural households in Kerala don’t have access to improved sources of water.

As per the census 2011, in Kerala 24.5% of rural households have Piped Drinking Water Supply, 64.8% of the rural households depend on Well Water, 3.9% depend on handpumps and 6.8% depend on other sources.

Of the 64.8% wells, 14.3% is covered wells and 50.5% are uncovered wells. Under the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) conducted by UNICEF and WHO, uncovered wells and other sources are not included as improved sources and thus the percentage of households depending on the unimproved sources is higher.

The State Government of Kerala has been advised to prioritize covering of the uncovered wells in the Annual Action Plan of the State by spending money from National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).

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