HYDERABAD: Telangana has been ranked sixth in the SDG India Index 2020-21 report released by Niti Aayog on Thursday. The State improved its overall performance by scoring 69 in 2020 as opposed to 67 in 2019. Despite the State’s celebrated 2BHK scheme, 1.5 per cent of households in Telangana continue to reside in kutcha houses — a non-durable and temporary form of residence. A major achievement of the State recognised by the SDG is that 100 per cent of the rural population is getting drinking water within their premises through piped water supply. All households in the State have individual toilets.
Of the total population, 97.98 per cent are covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in the State. The Maternal Mortality Ratio (per 1,00,000 live births) reduced to 63 in 2020 from 76 in 2019. The forest cover in the State increased marginally to 18.36 per cent in 2020 from 18.22 per cent in 2019. The State also topped in affordable and clean energy.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) aims to ensure that by 2030, all men and women – the poor and the marginalised in particular — have equal rights to economic resources, access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property. The SDG target for housing has been set to zero per cent, implying that no person should reside in a kutcha house. Presently, for every 100 people in the country, 84 persons have a mobile connection. Telangana also featured in the list of States with over 100 percent mobile density.