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Fig 4.9 SOCIAL SERVICE
Source wise drinking water availability in Kerala

Source:Census of India 2011
4.170 In rural Kerala, 72 percent of people have drinking water within the premises. District wise,
Thiruvananthapuram (82 percent) has the highest and Idukki (39 percent) has the lowest percentage
of rural population with water source within the premise. Wayanad (74%) has the lowest percentage
of urban population with water source within the premise. Source wise Drinking Water availability in
the Districts of Kerala based on Rural Urban classification are provided in Appendix 4.73

4.171 Census 2011 reveals that Wells remain the main source of drinking water in Kerala. 62 per cent
of the households in Kerala depend on wells for drinking water. Only 29.3 per cent of the households
in the State have Tap water as their main source of drinking water, and among them just 80 per cent
get treated water. 4.2 per cent of households have Hand pumps and Tube wells as their main source,
while 4.4 per cent households have other sources like springs, rivers and canals, tanks, ponds and
lakes for drinking water.

4.172 It is significant to note that in terms of availability of Tap water, the performance of Kerala is
very poor. In India as a whole, 43.5 per cent of households have Tap water as their main source of
drinking water. The performance of our neighbouring states in this regard is much better – Tamil
Nadu (79.8), Karnataka (66.1), Andhra Pradesh (69.9).

4.173 As per figures from the Office of Registrar General of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Kerala
is the state which has least percentage of population having access to safe drinking water. Water
from Tap, Tube wells and Hand pumps only were classified as safe. According to these figures, only
28.3 percent households in rural Kerala and 39.4 percent households in urban Kerala have access
to safe drinking water.

Economic Review 2014