Biplab Deb rebuts demand for population law in Tripura, says no unnatural growth

There is no sign of unnatural growth of population in the state, Tripur chief minister Biplab Deb told the state assembly, his counter to the demand by two BJP legislators to enact a population control law.

AGARTALA: Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday responded to a demand for a population control law, saying there was no “unnatural growth” of the state’s population. The chief minister’s assertion came in response to a suggestion by a lawmaker of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Kalyani Roy, who insisted that there was a need to introduce a law to control the population.

Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb has rejected the demand for a population control law in the state, citing data from the National Family Health Survey. (PTI)

Biplab Deb cited data from the National Family Health Survey-5 2019-20 to underline that Tripura’s total fertility rate is 1.7, which is well below the replacement level of fertility.

“In the current situation, there is no sign of unnatural growth of population in the state. Still, we have taken several steps like ligation camps for women, free distribution of birth control pills among women, non-scapale vasectomy camps for men to control the population. Despite this, the state will take timely decision on population control law, if required, “ said Biplab Deb.

The chief minister’s statement came after his party’s Kalyani Roy said Tripura, which had a population of 36 lakh in 2011, was estimated to have increased to more than 41 lakhs in 2021 on the basis of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), or UIDAI data. She claimed the population could rise to 47 lakh in the next 10 years, and cross 1 crore by 2091 that will create problems of food, living space, unemployment due to limited resources within the state.

Ray, whose notice was supported by party colleague Sudhanshu Das, cited the steps taken by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and sought similar measures

“Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma introduced legislation on two children policies. Like Assam, this kind of legislation is required in Tripura, “ said Roy.

To be sure, Assam hasn’t enacted a law to control population, but it does have a population policy in place. In 2017, the Assam assembly passed a population and women empowerment policy that barred people with more than two children from securing government jobs. It also prevented such persons from contesting panchayat and municipal elections. The policy is yet to be implemented.

But top BJP leaders in the Assam government do frequently spotlight the rise in population, sometimes linking the rising cases of land encroachment with population explosion, especially among the Muslim population. ‘If the population explosion continues, one day even the Kamakhya temple land will be encroached upon,’ Sarma told reporters in June.