A Linkage Between Biomass Fuel Use, Carbon Monoxide Concentration and Housing Policy: A Case in India

This article examines the relationship between the indoor carbon monoxide parts per million (CO-ppm) concentration generated from cooking with biomass fuel and the popular housing policy, Indira Awas Yojana (IAY)/Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana of the Government of India that aims at building brick (pucca) houses for a rural population of India. This article is based on a primary survey carried out in two districts of West Bengal, India, covering 360 households. The concentration of CO-ppm in the in-house air was recorded for each surveyed houses at the 10-min interval for an approximately 24-h period using EL-USB-CO data logger (Lascar Electronics, Erie PA, USA). Also, different socio-economic and demographic information was collected using the interview method for each surveyed household. The results indicate positive and significant mean CO-ppm concentration gap for the non-IAY houses over IAY houses over different quantiles of mean CO-ppm distribution. Mean CO-ppm is 4.34 points significantly lower in homes built up under the housing scheme at 50th quantile. The results point out the importance of planned housing and benefit of concrete houses in our survey areas. Housing policies should aim at building a properly designed home with ventilation facilities for minimising CO concentration in dwellings.