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European Journal of Business &

Social Sciences

Available at https://ejbss.org/

ISSN: 2235-767X

Volume 07 Issue 02

February2019

Available online:https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 373

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).

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