Less than 45 pc of households in five states use clean fuel for cooking: Govt survey

The five states where less than 45 per cent households use clean fuel for cooking are Assam 42.1 per cent, Bihar 37.8 per cent, Meghalaya 33.7 per cent, Nagaland 43 per cent and West Bengal 40.2 per cent, according to the data.The NFHS-5 2019-20 was conducted in 6.1 lakh sample households to collect information on population, health, family planning and nutrition-related indicators from the 22 states and union territories.

Less than 45 percent of households use clean fuel for cooking in five states, including Bihar and West Bengal, the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS) has revealed. The survey covered 17 states and five union territories. The five states where less than 45 percent of households use clean fuel for cooking are Assam (42.1 percent), Bihar (37.8 percent), Meghalaya (33.7 percent), Nagaland (43 percent), and West Bengal (40.2 percent), according to the data.

The NFHS-5 (2019-20) was conducted in 6.1 lakh sample households to collect information on population, health, family planning, and nutrition-related indicators from the 22 states and union territories. According to the data, over 80 percent of households use clean fuels in Andhra Pradesh (83.6 percent), Goa (96.5 percent), Mizoram (83.8 percent), and Telangana (91.8 percent). Electricity, LPG or natural gas, and biogas are considered as a clean fuel in the survey.

The survey also showed that the use of clean fuel increased in all the 22 surveyed states and UTs in comparison to NFHS-4 (2015-16). It found that over 70 percent of the population in 16 states are living in households that use an improved sanitation facility.

Lakshadweep (99.8 percent) and Kerala (98.7 percent) have the highest percentage of the population living in households with an improved sanitation facility, while Bihar (49.4 percent) and Ladakh (42.3 percent) have the lowest, the survey said. It found that almost all the surveyed households are using iodized salt.

Over 90 percent of the population was living in households with electricity, and more than 70 percent with improved drinking water sources in the surveyed states and UTs, according to the data. The NFHS results of 17 states and five UTs (Assam, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman, and the Nicobar Islands, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal, Mizoram, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu) have been released now as Phase-I. Phase-II, which will cover other states, will be released next year, the health ministry has said.