13% Telangana households have no in-house toilet facilities, caste survey reveals

Hyderabad: Over 13 per cent of all households in Telangana reported having no toilet facilities, while nearly six per cent lack access to electricity, according to the caste survey conducted by the Congress government in Telangana in 2024-25.

The survey report, which was made public on Wednesday, said in Telangana, 21.2 per cent of households reported lacking tap water access. Access to piped water remains limited, with 19.7 per cent of Scheduled Castes and 21.0 per cent of Scheduled Tribes having no tap water supply.

While the Backward Classes stand at 20 per cent, the General Castes fare better with only 12.8 per cent lacking tap water.

"Lack of access to toilets is a fundamental indicator of development, backwardness, affecting hygiene, health, and personal dignity-especially for women and girls. In Telangana, 13.3 per cent of households reported having no toilet," the Telangana Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey-2024 said.

Lack of in-house toilets remains a key deprivation indicator.

"18.8 per cent of SCs and a very high 32.5 per cent of STs reported no toilet facilities, exposing health and sanitation risks," it added.

BCs show 10.8 per cent, whereas General Castes (OCs) have only 4.5 per cent, reflecting far better access to basic sanitation. This stark contrast reveals deep sanitation inequality across communities.

As of July 12, 2024, a total of 8,990 villages in Telangana got ODF Plus status, three villages got ODF Plus Rising and 8,379 villages got ODF Plus Model status, as per the National Swachh Bharat Mission, a state government report had earlier said.

As many as 6.56 lakh or 5.8 per cent of total households reported not having electricity, the gap highlights stark disparities in access to basic infrastructure across castes.

The absence of electricity, critical for modern living standards, is high among STs at 11.0 per cent, and SCs at 8.3 per cent. In contrast, only 4.7 per cent of BCs and 2.7 per cent of OCs lack electricity, showing a clear rural and social disadvantage for ST and SC households.

The survey further said the share of Other Caste households owning a car is three times that of OBC and about five times that of SCs and STs.

The Telangana SEEEPC survey, colloquially referred to as the 'caste census' is a record of 3.55 crore (35 million) people's status, feelings, experiences and hopes captured through 75 fields of information for each individual that offers a rich insight into the 'health of Telangana society'.