A total of 19.4 per cent of Indian households - urban and rural - do not use any toilet facility, a National Family Health Survey (NFHS) report released Tuesday said. "Nineteen per cent of households have no facility, which means… members practice open defecation," the report said, noting that in urban regions open defecation is practised in 6.1 per cent of all households while that number shoots up to 25.9 per cent for households in rural areas.
Among states and union territories, access to a toilet facility is lowest in Bihar (available only in 61.2 per cent of households). Bihar is followed by Jharkhand (69.6 per cent) and Odisha (71.3 per cent).
Only Lakshadweep reports 100 per cent household access to toilet facilities, with Mizoram close behind at 99.9 per cent, and Kerala a fraction lower at 99.8 per cent.
The report, however, noted that the percentage of households practising open defecation had decreased from 39 per cent in 2015-2016 to 19.4 per cent in 2019-2021.
According to the NFHS, 69.3 per cent of households have access to improved toilet facilities - or those that are not shared. 8.4 per cent of households have access to shared toilet facilities and 2.9 per cent have access to unimproved facilities.
The report showed that 80.7 per cent of urban households have access to improved toilet facilities, while the percentage stands at 63.6 for rural households. As far as shared facilities are concerned, 10.5 per cent urban households have access to those while in rural regions, the percentage is 7.4.
{{/usCountry}}The report showed that 80.7 per cent of urban households have access to improved toilet facilities, while the percentage stands at 63.6 for rural households. As far as shared facilities are concerned, 10.5 per cent urban households have access to those while in rural regions, the percentage is 7.4.
{{/usCountry}}Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared rural India open-defecation free (ODF) on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019, thereby meeting the deadline he had set for the flagship Swachh Bharat scheme when he first came to power in 2014.
Here are five states and UTs where access to toilet facilities is lowest:
1. Bihar (61.7 per cent)
2. Jharkhand (69.6 per cent)
3. Odisha (71.3 per cent)
4. Madhya Pradesh (76.2 per cent)
5. Uttar Pradesh (78.4 per cent)
Here are five states and UTs where access to toilet facilities is highest:
1. Lakshadweep (100 per cent)
2. Mizoram (99.9 per cent)
3. Kerala (99.8 per cent)
4. Nagaland and Sikkim (99.7 per cent)
5. Ladakh and Delhi (99.4 per cent)