Despite UP has registered a decline in birth rate in last three years, UP Government admitted that the state is expecting a population boom and its population would touch 45 crore mark in the next 25 years. At present UP’s population if 21 crore.
“The state’s birth rate has gone down from 3.4 per cent to 3.1 per cent during the past three years which in number terms is almost 50 lakh,’ said minister of state for health Shank lal Manjhi in the state assembly here on Wednesday. Replying to a question of Suresh Kumar Khanna (BJP) the minister said that the government was serious in controlling population because if it grows in this rate UP’s population would be 45 crore by next 25 years.
The birth rate in the slums and colonies of the poor people is very high. Government has launched awareness campaign to make people aware about virtues of small family, he said. leader of the opposition Swami Prasad Maurya also commented that the government should take action against the Sadhvis and others who are asking Hindu women to bear at least four children. Trees: Government has decided to purchase modern machines which could re-locate big trees from one place to another paving the way for construction of highways. Minister of state for forest Farid Mahfooj Kidwai replying to a question of BJP member Manish Asija said that efforts are on to purchase machines to re-locate big trees and re-plant them at other place. “Such machines are being used in Orissa and Gujarat’ he said. The minister also informed the House that the state government has made an agreement with a Delhi based company for re-location of around 950 trees in the Taj Trapezium area.
BJP member criticized the government for its failure to replant trees on the Yamuna Expressway. Of the total 12,000 trees that were felled during construction of Yamuna Expressway, the state government has planted just 1700 trees. Canal: Meanwhile in another question, state irrigation minister Shiv Pal Singh Yadav said that around 30,000 kms canal has been de-silted against total length of 74,000 kms. “We require around Rs 22,000 crore for cleaning all the canals in the state and for this purpose the state government has sought fund from the Centre,’ he said and added last year Centre had sanctioned Rs 14000 crore for the purpose, but this year it was just Rs 1000 crore.