In its bid to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates and ensure population stabilisation, the Haryana government will utilise the services of the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and reward them for promoting family planning methods.

ASHAs will be given incentives for counselling newly married couples to delay childbirth for at least two years after marriage, said health minister Rao Narender Singh.

Also, couples with one child will be asked to have a gap of three years after the birth of their first child, he added.

Under the scheme, ASHA would be paid Rs. 500 for ensuring spacing of two years after marriage, Rs. 500 for a gap of three years after the birth of the first child and Rs. 1,000 if the couple opts for a permanent birth control method after two children.

“ASHAs would also counsel eligible couples, who have up to two children, to opt for permanent limiting methods. It would reduce the conception rate and lower the risk of infant and maternal deaths,” he added.