Express News Service By

KOCHI: It's no surprise, but still the Economic Survey 2015-16, tabled in Parliament on Friday, sets the record straight: Kerala is miles ahead of other states in having latrine facilities within the household premises.

As per the Survey, 95.2 per cent of households in Kerala have latrine facilities within their premises while Mizoram scored the second place at 91.9 per cent. Among the big states, Kerala is far ahead compared to Gujarat (57.4 per cent), Bihar (23.1 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (49.6 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (48.3 per cent). In terms of drinking water within the premises too, Kerala (77.7 per cent) is among the top three, after Punjab (85.9 per cent) and Goa (79.7 per cent). The state also scored well in terms of population below the poverty line, as per the Economic Survey. In both rural and urban poverty, only less than 10 per cent of the population is below the poverty line in Kerala.

HIGH INDUSTRIAL TARIFFS

The Economic Survey said firms have identified high industrial tariffs for power in Kerala as a major constraint for lower industrial activity. But, Kerala is not alone in this segment. Other states that have been clubbed along with Kerala in this respect are Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

LIGHTHOUSES

Kerala figures among the states where the Centre is setting up 78 lighthouses; the other states being Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

ENDOSULFAN SPRAY

The Economic Survey said farmers need to be educated about the classification of insecticides on the basis of their toxicity. Pointing out the deadly consequences of this, the Survey said the farmers should be advised whether specific pesticides are suitable for aerial application. "There have been incidents like the aerial spraying of Endoslphan in a literate state like Kerala, which resulted in serious health hazards in an entire village," the Survey said, referring to the aerial spraying of endosulfan in Kasargod cashew plantations, which had serious implications on the human development and the environment of an entire area.