Bhubaneswar: Even as drinking water supply and sanitation facilities are a sine qua non for improved quality of life, the Economic Survey 2016-17 paints a bleak picture in terms of access to these basic services in the state.
A comparison between national and state data on access to water supply and sanitation services reveals that Orissa ranks far lower than the national average both in rural and urban areas.
Orissa lags behind the national average with regard to access to toilet facilities. As per 2011 census, out of 96.61 lakh households in the state, 78 per cent households do not have any latrine within their premises and 76.6 per cent defecate in the open. The corresponding figures for SC and ST communities stand at 66 per cent and 77.4 per cent, respectively. The situation is grave in rural areas.
As per the census figures, only 13.8 per cent households use tap water, while 19.5 per cent depend on well and 61.5 per cent look to hand pumps for drinking water purposes.
Similarly, 22.4 per cent households have drinking water sources on their own premises, while 42.2 per cent use water sources near their premises and 35.4 per cent fetch water away from their homes.
The state government has introduced Rural Water Supply Programme to provide potable water to the people in rural areas. According to the survey, by the end of April 2016, there were 10,438 potable water supply (PWS) schemes and 4,32,309 spot sources which were installed across the state. Of the spot sources, 4,19,364 are tube wells and 12,945 sanitary wells.
During 2015-16, a total of 391 PWS schemes were commissioned and 21,126 spot sources (20,801 tube wells and 325 sanitary wells) were installed. These sources also include those at schools and Anganwadi centres.
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