Housing Census, 2012 and the Challenges ahead
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: April 12, 2012 -

Showing how life has radically change or not for many people over the decade, the much awaited findings of the first phase of Census 2011 - Houselisting and Housing Census in Manipur was released along with the rest of the country yesterday (April 10).

Hailed as the first comprehensive survey of population in the post-reform era, the first set of the final report on Census 2011, which has been unveiled, is expected to have immense utility at the time of formulation of housing policies by the government as it provides not just a comprehensive data on the conditions of human settlements and housing deficit but also a wide range of data on amenities and assets available or unavailable to the households.

Among other notable findings, the data of 'Houses, Household Amenities and Assets of Census, 2011' has indicated an increase in the number of households in Manipur from 4,92,371 to 6,09,964 over one decade with mark improvement in quality of housing in terms of construction materials used for roofing, wall and flooring, both in rural and urban area.

With regard to amenities in households covered under the exercise across 51 towns and 2,582 villages of the state, the findings revealed that only 48.3 percent have access to tap, tube well, hand pump and covered well as the main source of drinking water.

Moreover, only 16.1 percent of the surveyed households have source of water within the premises while 46 percent have to fetch water from source located within 500 metres in rural areas and 100 metres in urban areas.

Among the surveyed households, there are also 37.8 percent which still fetch water from source located more than 500 metres away in rural areas or 100 metres in urban areas.

On the other hand, the exercise of Houselisting and Housing Census has found out that 68.3 percent of the households use electricity as main source of lighting. This is said to be an increase of 7.7 point from 2011.

However, when it comes to 'any other sources of lighting', Manipur has recorded the highest growth rate in comparison to other states of India with 3.6 percent growth as against the all India rate of 0.2 percent.

Interestingly, in this age of information technology and super-computer, wherein access to information is just a click of the mouse away, only 9 percent of the households surveyed in Manipur have computers/laptops out of which only 2.1 percent have access to internet facilities.

But on radio use, the state recorded highest growth rate among other Indian states with 54.4 percent as against the all India rate of 19 percent.

All these indicators are some of the challenges that our policy framers and implementers have to brace up with. An increase of 1,17,593 households for residential and partly residential purposes over the last decade has shown the changing social fabric with family size getting smaller each passing year.

Lack of access to adequate drinking water to majority of the people, most of whom have to walk down as far as 500 metres from home in rural areas and 100 metres in urban areas just to fetch a budget of water in this 21st century definitely says something eloquently about the failure of the state government and its department concerned to ensure potable water to its people.

Increase in the number of households using electricity as the main source of lighting is also no occasion for celebration as the highest growth rate on dependence on other sources of lighting continues to remind us of the pitiable condition of power situation in the state.

Last but not the least, the state government should find out why 17.2 percent of the households surveyed do not have any of the 35 specified assets on which the Houselisting and Housing Census exercise had been based.