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Sustainable cooking energy options for rural poor people in India: an empirical study

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Abstract

Currently, energy consumption for cooking in rural households of India is mostly based on fuelwood used in traditional stoves. This paper presents results of a study carried out in a forest fringe area of India on cooking energy use. The concept of calculating levelized cost as cost per unit of useful energy is applied on source–device combinations of cooking and validated in Bargaon Community Development Block of Sundergarh District in Odisha, India. About 92 % of the households in the study area use fuelwood as the only energy source for cooking; the total use of fuelwood for only cooking, in the Block is nearly 1.8 times the total sustainable wood supply showing an urgent need for promoting alternative cooking energy options. This paper also presents an assessment of different cooking options in terms of cost per unit of useful cooking energy. LPG, biogas and gasifier stoves are found to be far too expensive for the local people. Briquette-fired improved stoves appear to be a promising cooking energy option in the study area. Government support and intervention are recommended for promoting this option.

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Notes

  1. The Community Development Block (CD Block) is a rural area earmarked for administration and development in India. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer. Block covers several Gram Panchayats at the village level. Currently CD Block is administrative unit of 3rd level in some states of India which is renamed as ‘Tehsil’ in other states.

  2. Gram Panchayat (GP) is the cornerstone of a local self-government organization in India of the Panchayati Raj system at the village and has a Gram Pradhan as its elected head.

  3. The Scheduled Tribes (STs) are official designations given to various groups of historically disadvantaged people in India. The term is recognized in the Constitution of India. The Scheduled Tribes comprise about 8.6 % of India’s population as per 2011 Census.

  4. Other Backward Class (OBC) is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are socially and educationally disadvantaged. It is one of the several official classifications of the population of India, along with Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In the Indian Constitution, OBCs are described as “socially and educationally backward classes”, and the Government of India is enjoined to ensure their social and educational development.

  5. USD 1 = INR 65.00.

  6. 1 acre = 43,560 square feet.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Management House, College Square West, Kolkata, 700073, India

    Chinmoy Jana & S. C. Bhattacharya

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  1. Chinmoy Jana
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  2. S. C. Bhattacharya
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Correspondence to Chinmoy Jana.

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Jana, C., Bhattacharya, S.C. Sustainable cooking energy options for rural poor people in India: an empirical study. Environ Dev Sustain 19, 921–937 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-016-9774-y

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