The living standards indicators in the Multidimensional Poverty Index assess deprivation based on the type of cooking fuel a household uses. Families relying on firewood, dung, or crop waste are classified as deprived because these fuels produce toxic smoke and harm health.

But this indicator often captures access, not use. Many households receive a subsidised LPG connection, yet the high cost of refilling cylinders forces many of  them to continue fuel stacking - using LPG occasionally while relying primarily on firewood or dung for daily cooking. As a result, on paper or during the survey, they appear “non-deprived” and having clean cooking fuel. In reality, they continue to inhale smoke every day, an everyday hardship that disappears from the data.