Population control is a very big problem in our country, so in view of this problem, the Uttar Pradesh government has proposed the Population Control Bill, 2021. After so many years of independence, Uttar Pradesh (UP) has become the first state in India to introduce population control measures.
Recently, the Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) introduced a draft bill of the UP Population Policy (2021-2030) on World Population Day to reduce the gross fertility rate and stabilize the population.
The new draft of the Population Control Bill, 2021 promotes the two-child policy, the violation of which would mean people would be barred from contesting local body elections, applying for government jobs or receiving any government subsidy. According to the Uttar Pradesh government, this law is important because our country has limited resources such as safe drinking water, affordable food, decent housing, access to quality education, economic opportunities, electricity and a secure life accessible to all citizens. | According to the Uttar Pradesh government, this law is important because our country has limited resources such as safe drinking water, affordable food, decent housing, access to quality education, economic opportunities, electricity and a secure life accessible to all citizens. Yogi Adityanath said in a statement that overpopulation is the "root cause" of several major issues, including inequality and poverty. In the draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill-2021 issued by the State Law Commission, 'Bachche Do Achhe' has been highlighted. |
After so many years of independence, Uttar Pradesh (UP) has become the first state in India to introduce population control measures. The new draft of the Population Control Bill, 2021 promotes the two-child policy, the violation of which would mean people would be barred from contesting local body elections, applying for government jobs or receiving any government subsidy. | According to United Nations estimates, India will soon overtake China to become the world's most populous country with about 1.5 billion people. About 812 million Indians (about 60% of the population) still live below the poverty line, lacking access to basic resources such as food and shelter. According to the bill, it will be the duty of the government to set up maternity centers at all primary health centers. |
These centers will distribute contraceptive pills and condoms and also spread awareness about family planning methods. The draft proposes to use vasectomy operations, tubectomy or vasectomy. They will also have to ensure compulsory registration of pregnancies, deliveries, births and deaths across the state. It is important to understand that even if from tomorrow all couples in UP start having two children, the population will continue to grow.
The reason for this is the large number of youth in the state. The population is growing not because couples are having more children, but because we have more young couples today. Experts studies and past data show that this policy may not be very effective as one third of the population of UP is youth and we will not get the desired result from this law.
Blocking poor people from government schemes and incentives is also unfair as sometimes it is due to extreme poverty, low education and awareness and inability to afford contraceptive measures or abortion. In South India, Kerala and Karnataka have seen a decline in the fertility rate, which is due to education and awareness, so the UP government should also focus on education and awareness to the people for population control as it will also protect the rights.
In the new population policy, a target has been set to bring the birth rate to 2.1 per thousand population by the year 2026 and 1.9 by 2030. The Samajwadi Party (SP) has called the population control policy "election propaganda" – the impending assembly elections in the state – as have political analysts. Congress's Salman Khurshid has said that politicians should declare the number of their children. Data on Uttar Pradesh Legislature as it happens
The Assembly's website states that more than 50% of MLAs in the UP Assembly, where the BJP has 304 out of 403 seats, have more than two children. More than half of the BJP MLAs have three or more children. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati said Adityanath's move was motivated only by elections. According to him, the government should have started "spreading awareness among the people immediately after forming the government" if it was serious about managing the population.
The proposed legislation is not only unnecessary and harmful but could potentially lead to a political and demographic disaster
Comments