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Yogi unveils policy to curb population growth in Uttar Pradesh
The Uttar Pradesh Population Policy 2021-2030, unveiled on the occasion of World Population Day, also aims at bringing down the gross fertility rate among women to 2.1 by 2026 and to 1.9 by 2030.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday unveiled a population policy which is aimed at stabilising the state’s population and reducing maternal and infant deaths.
The Uttar Pradesh Population Policy 2021-2030, unveiled on the occasion of World Population Day, also aims at bringing down the gross fertility rate among women to 2.1 by 2026 and to 1.9 by 2030.
Calling the rising population a “hurdle in development”, Adityanath said, “Our first job is to create awareness among the masses to control population growth.”
“Population control is directly connected with awareness among the people and poverty,” he said.
The announcement has come days after the a draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill was put up on the website of the UP State Law Commission inviting suggestions from the public by July 19.
The policy proposes to make people with more than two children ineligible for government jobs, disentitle those already in service to promotions and exclude them from benefits of 77 schemes.
Under the policy, people who have more than two children will be prohibited from contesting local body elections or receiving any kind of subsidy. It also proposes incentives such as tax rebates for those with up to two children.
Unveiling the policy on Sunday, Adityanath said, “Across the world, concerns have been raised from time to time about increasing population being a hurdle in development. Discussions on it have been going on for the four decades.”
“The countries and states which have made efforts in this direction have seen positive results. However, more efforts are needed,” he said, adding the Uttar Pradesh government was implementing this policy keeping in mind all sections of the society.
Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous state with a population of around 220 million.
The chief minister also linked the gap between the birth of two children to malnutrition and the child mortality rate. The health of a mother and her child have to be linked with this, the CM said.
The policy also proposes to ensure better facilities for the elderly and better education, besides health and nutrition for adolescents between 11 and 19 years.
The state’s health minister Jai Pratap Singh said, “It is estimated that our (India’s) population will overtake China by 2027. If we implement the new population policy, then it is estimated that the population of this state will stabilise by 2052.”
The population policy and the draft bill for population control have become a political flashpoint in the state where elections are slated to be held early next year.
Questioning the timing of unveiling the policy, Congress leader Priyanka Gupta said, “Why did the BJP get reminded of bringing this policy when barely six months are left for the election? The government must ensure that the policy does not have any adverse impact on the poor. Till now, no awareness programme has run... they (BJP government) came up with this only to divert the attention of the people from the serious issue of unemployment. It wants to send the public a message that it is the population which is responsible for unemployment, and not the government.”
Hitting out at the BJP government over its draft population control bill, Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq asked where will India get manpower in case of war if people are not allowed to procreate. “As far as Yogi (Adityanath), PM (Narendra) Modi and (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat are concerned, do not have children... This (draft population control bill) will prove to be a loss-making deal,” he said.
(With agency inputs)
