Cooking Fuels and Respiratory Infirmity in Rural Barak Valley: An Analysis of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Period

Abstract

This study is an attempt to examine the fuel use pattern and its impact on the respiratory health of the users in the rural area of Barak Valley region of southern Assam. The effectiveness of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in mitigating the practice of unclean fuel has also been analysed in this study along with other related issues. The results based on personal information of 2,541 individuals from 530 households of Barak Valley reveal that incidence of respiratory illness is more profound in the households of solid biomass fuel users. The study further reveals that though PMUY has equipped the rural households with clean fuel connections but failed to change the fuel use practice of the beneficiaries. Among the barriers of clean fuel use practices, insufficient income of the households and availability of free and low-cost alternative fuels are found to be more prominent. The ordered probit model to examine the factors posing risk to respiratory illness reveal that women are at higher risk of developing respiratory syndromes as they spend more time in cooking space. While among others, smoking habit and age of the person are significant in increasing the risk pulmonary syndromes. JEL: I15, I38, Q52, Q58