Couples With More Than 2 Children To Not Be Eligible For Govt Benefits: UP Population Control Bill

It was stressed that Uttar Pradesh is yet to achieve its total fertility rate. With this proposed policy, the government has come up with different strategies to work towards population control.

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Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government is to unveil its new policy on population control for 2021-30 on the occasion of World Population Day 2021 which falls on Sunday.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wishes for a community-centric approach to be adopted for population control so that better facilities can be made available to citizens and the state can be developed properly.

"Poverty and illiteracy are major factors for population expansion. There is also a lack of awareness about population in certain communities and we therefore need community-centric awareness efforts," he said in a statement.

"State Law Commission has given a proposal for population control and welfare. We've proposed that any couple that follows the two-child policy will be given all government benefits. They'll be able to avail all government welfare schemes," UP Law Commission chairperson Aditya Nath Mittal informed.

"If somebody doesn't follow this policy, they won't be eligible for such schemes. Their ration card will be restricted to 4 units, they will not be able to apply for government jobs and if they are already government employees, then they won't get a promotion," he added

UP Law Commission chief further revealed that the system will be voluntary, if a person voluntarily keeps the number of his family members limited, they will be eligible for government schemes. "We are planning to present this by the second week of August," he said.

According to a government spokesperson, the population policy will follow a five-pronged approach to population control and will also focus on improving health.

It was stressed that Uttar Pradesh's total fertility rate is 2.7 percent currently as opposed to how it ideally should be less than 2.1 percent. Most states have achieved the ideal total fertility rate, except for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, he said.

The proposed policy will work towards increasing the accessibility of contraceptive measures issued under the Family Planning Programme and also provide a system for safe abortion.

"On the other hand, efforts will be made to stabilize population by providing solutions for impotence and infertility, and reducing infant and maternal mortality rate through improved health facilities," the spokesperson said.

The population policy will cover arrangements for the care of the elderly besides the focus on improved management of education, health, and nutrition for adolescents between 11 and 19 years. Health clubs will be set up in schools and there will be digital tracking in place for newborns, adolescents and elderly people.

With this proposed policy, the government has come up with different strategies to work towards a convergence of existing schemes for population control and improvement in health of citizens.

"While finalising the new policy, efforts will be made to maintain the demographic balance in all communities, ensure easy availability of advanced health facilities and bring down the maternal and child mortality rates through proper nutrition. The objectives of the new policy will be embedded in the spirit of the Sustainable Development Goals," the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, additional chief secretary (ACS), health, Amit Mohan Prasad informed that the state's population policy is being prepared after studying different reports, including the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-04.

The NFHS-05 is scheduled to be released soon and therefore, targets will be set for two phases, 2026 and 2030.

Recently, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma made headlines for his statement on measures for population control in the state.

In June, the Assam CM announced that "be it loan waiver or other government schemes, population norms will be taken into account. It won't be applicable to tea garden workers/SC-ST community". "In the future, population norms will be taken into account as eligibility for government benefits. Population policy has begun," he had announced.

(With inputs from agencies)