Every section of society must join in the awareness programme for population control, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday as he launched the State’s population policy for 2021-2030 .
Mr. Adityanath said increasing population was the root of major problems and prevailing inequality in society. “Increasing population can be an obstacle to development,” he said here, stating that the new policy was drafted keeping in mind all sections of society.
If there is no gap between the birth of two children, then naturally it will affect their nutrition, he said explaining the need for spacing and control in population.
The new policy aims to decrease the Total Fertility Rate from 2.7 to 2.1 by 2026 and 1.7 by 2030; increase Modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate from 31.7 to 45 by 2026 and 52 by 2030; increase male methods of contraception use from 10.8 to 15.1 by 2026 and 16.4 by 2030; decrease Maternal Mortality Rate from 197 to 150 to 98 and Infant Mortality Rate from 43 to 32 to 22 and Under 5 Infant Mortality Rate from 47 to 35 to 25.
Targeting population stabilization, the draft of the policy also said the state would attempt to maintain a balance of population among the various communities. “Awareness and extensive programmes would be held among those communities, cadres and geographical areas that have a higher fertility rate,” the policy read.
The policy comes at a time when The Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission has prepared a proposed draft bill for population control, under which a two-child norm would be implemented and promoted.
A person who will have more than two children after the law comes to force would be debarred from several benefits such as government sponsored welfare schemes, ration card units would be limited to four, and the person will be barred from contesting elections to local authority or any body of the local self-government, the draft says.
The person contravening the law would also become ineligible to apply for government jobs under the State government, will be barred from promotion in government services and will not receive any kind of subsidy. The provisions would come into force one year after the date of publication of the gazette, the draft says.
Mr. Adityanath said several efforts had been made in the past four years to decrease the TFR, MMR and IMR and reasonable success was achieved. In 2016, the TFR was 3.3 as against the national average of 2.6, he said. The current TFR was 2.7 while the national average was 2.3, he said. The MMR in 2016 was 258 against the national average of 178. Today, it stood at 197, while the national average was 113. Five years ago, the IMR was 53 while the national average was 42. Today, it stands at 43 against the national average of 33.
The State’s policy also aims at increasing the life expectancy from 64.3 to 69 by 2030 and child sex ratio (0-6 years) from 899 to 919 by 2030.
Uttar Pradesh first launched its population policy in 2000.
