The 65th round of the NSS reports that 11% of households had no latrines. 8% were using pit latrines and 77 percent of urban households were using either septic tanks or flush latrines. Further, according to 2001 Census, less than two-third of the urban households were connected to sewer system. As per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report of 2009, treatment capacity installed was only 30%. The actual treatment was estimated at 72.2 % in 2008 which implies that only about 20% sewage generated was treated before disposal in Class I cities and Class II towns (as per 2001 census). As per CPCB report brought out in 2005, about 1, 15,000 MT of Municipal Solid Waste is generated daily in the country. Public transport accounts for 22% of urban transport in India. Out of 85 cities with population of 0.5 million or more, only 20 cities have a city bus service. As per Census of India, 2001, 52.4 million people lived in slums in 1743 towns which constitutes 23.5% of the population of these towns. The Technical Group on the Estimation of Housing Shortage projects the total shortage of dwelling units in urban areas in 2007 to be 24.71 million and the shortage during the plan period (2007-12) including the backlog is estimated to be 26.53 million of which 99% pertains to the EWS & LIG segments of the urban population.

This information was given by Shri Saugata Roy, Minister of State for Urban Development in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.