Page 1 of 16
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 03
March 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 591
Spatial Variation in Availability of Household Amenities between Urban
and Rural Areas in Haryana
Priti Kumari
Abstract
Availability of household amenities is considered important to determine the quality of life. It
is an important indicator of lifestyle, social welfare and socio-economic status of people. In
modern life, household assets are both the signs of social status and instruments for a better
life. But even today, majority of Indians have been deprived of standard housing, without
access to basic minimum facilities of drinking water, sanitation and public hygiene etc. The
absence or inadequacy of these amenities in an area is not only the outcome of demand
supply gap but lack of financial resources; policy intervention and inefficiency of institutions.
Present paper has made an attempt to compare the availability of selected household
amenities in rural and urban households at district level in Haryana. Five selected basic
amenities such as availability of kitchen (inside house), drinking water (within premises),
bathroom (within premises), latrine (within premises) and electricity have been taken for
analysis. Study is based on secondary source of data at district level obtained from Census of
India, 2011. It shows that there is large difference in availability of household amenities
between rural and urban areas. In general, the availability of these five selected amenities is
lesser in the rural households than their urban counterparts. Variations are also found in
availability of these households amenities across various districts in the state of Haryana.
Key Words: Household Amenities, Rural and Urban Areas
Introduction
Housing or shelter is one of the essential prerequisites of human development and a
significant factor to determine the quality of life. In addition, access to household amenities
such as safe drinking water, sanitation facilities and electricity are basic ingredients that are
strongly associated with health and working status, as well as income, productivity and
quality of life of individuals in particular and the society in general (Sinha).The need for
these basic amenities has been universally recognised and has been a major plank in the
formulation of several policies and programmes in India. While rural households in India
Page 2 of 16
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 03
March 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 592
have witnessed a gradual improvement in the access to basic amenities in proportional terms,
they continue to face high levels of deprivation (Kumar, 2015).
A household amenity is a very important indicator of socioeconomic indicator of the society
or community.
Availability of modern household amenities has a great significance in the human life
because it is conventionally believed that housing conditions, availability of drinking water,
sanitation facilities, etc. might contribute to the health improvement of the people and
determine the quality of life (Nayar, 1997). The absence or inadequate availability of these
facilities in an area or section is not only the outcome of demand-supply gap but also it has
been due to the lack of financial resources, political interests, inefficiency of institutions etc.
It is also being realized that key dependencies exist between water supply and sanitation and
improvement in the overall human development (Dreze and Murthi, 2001).
The factors which exert an impact on the health status of the population can possibly be
delineated into three sets:
(i) Health factors which include medical intervention,
(ii) Health-promoting factors such as housing, water supply, sanitation and hygiene,
(iii) Non-health factors which include social and economic factors.
The backbone of a successful public health system is considered by source of clean water,
toilet facility, kitchen facility and bathroom facility etc. Poor supply of water has obvious
health costs for all people. The state government is committed to give an adequate source of
electricity for all section of society. Nevertheless, a significant number of rural households
lack electricity and the quality of service. Many of the households mainly in the rural areas
may have illegal connections which is quite common practice. These households may not
report their illegal connection to the Census which is by default an official arm of
government but the electrification rate may be under reported in the IHDS. It is the poor who
suffer from the lack of access to electricity. Researchers on various health based projects
have suggested that both the quality and quantity of water are important determinants of the
prevalence of gastrointestinal diseases. This problem is further compounded by lack of access
to sanitation. The household wealth is associated with sanitation. Poverty at an individual
level as well as state level also reduces the access towards these facilities (Toppo, 2014).
Page 3 of 16
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 03
March 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 593
Policies on Basic Amenities
There have been several initiatives, plans and programmes in India to improve access to basic
amenities. Two important programmes launched by the Government of India in the year 2005
that have contributed to development in rural and urban areas. These are the Bharat Nirman
and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM). There are also
various other schemes functioning at the sub-national levels for the provision of various basic
amenities (Kumar, 2015).
Under Bharat Nirman, various schemes (for improving the access to basic amenities in rural
areas with special provisions for poor, excluded and marginalised groups), such as rural
housing (Indira Awaas Yojana), rural drinking water supply (National Rural Drinking Water
Programme under Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission), Total Sanitation
Campaign (which has been renamed Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan in May 2012 by the Ministry of
Drinking Water and Sanitation), rural electrification (Rajiv Gandhi
GrameenVidyutikaranYojana) among others, are functioning. A landmark initiative was the
launch of Provision of Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA) in 2004 (MoUD, 2005).
The JnNURM aims at improving the economic and social infrastructure of 65 select cities as
well as providing affordable housing and Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) through
planned development of the identified cities. The JnNURM caters to the non-mission towns
and cities under the two components - the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for
Small and Medium Towns and the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme.
The schemes of Affordable Housing in Partnership and Interest Subsidy Scheme for Housing
Urban Poor dovetailed into Rajiv Awas Yojana, which focuses on slum free India, in the 12th
Plan (MoUD, 2005).
All these policies have formed special for the weaker and marginalized sections, but the
efforts have lost momentum in some aspects, leading to the current disparities in access to
basic services among rural and urban sector and different socio-economic sections of society
(Kumar, 2015). The Twelfth Five Year Plan recognized the inclusive growth approach as the
means to an end that would demand outcomes which yield benefits for all and particularly for
the marginalized sections of society (Thorat and Dubey, 2012).
