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More than half of the households in villages in the country had no drinking water facilities within their homes in 2012. Safe drinking water, which appears in the manifestos of many political parties, is not within the reach of half the rural households, according to a recent NSSO (National Sample Survey Office) study. According to the NSSO study, 54 per cent of rural households had no supply of drinking water at their homes in 2012. This was, however, a slight improvement compared to 2008-09 when 60 per cent did not have such amenities. The report was based on the 69th round of surveys, which covered a period of July-December, 2012 compared to the previous report based on the 65th round covering July 2008 to June 2009. In urban areas, 23 per cent of households had no access to potable water at homes in 2012. The earlier survey had shown 26 per cent households in urban areas as not having such a facility. In as many as 15 of 28 states, less than half of the households in villages had a water supply. As a result, large number of people in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and West Bengal had to walk at least half a kilometer to get drinking water.