A move which can potentially spark a political row, Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission has started drafting a law for population control as its chairman believes that the growing population puts stress on facilities such as hospitals, food grains and houses.
The commission is working on the lines that people having more than two children will be deprived of some government benefits. The commission is currently studying the social conditions and other points along with the laws applicable to some other states, including Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in terms of population control. The commission is expected to prepare a report and submit it to the state government soon.
Meanwhile, UP Law Commission chairman Aditya Nath Mittal told mediapersons here on Sunday that population is nearing an explosive stage, causing pressure on issues related to hospitals, food grains, houses and employment. “We believe that there should be a check on population,” he said, adding that population control is different from family planning.
“We don’t want to send across a message that we are against any particular religion or human rights. We just want to see to it that the government resources and facilities are available to those who are helping in and contributing to population control,” he said.
Though Mittal’s statement hints at a population control policy in the state, there is no official confirmation regarding the same by the UP government. The announcement came a day after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma echoed similar thoughts and said that the state government would gradually implement a two-child policy for availing of benefits under specific government schemes.
Notably, PM Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech in 2019, had advocated smaller families to combat population explosion and appreciated people voluntarily keeping the size of their families small, terming it a form of patriotism.