UP CM Yogi Adityanath

LUCKNOW: Those with more than two children in Uttar Pradesh may not be allowed to avail benefits of the state government’s welfare schemes or contest panchayat elections. The Yogi Adityanath government is working on a new population policy which could have these provisions.

Health minister Jai Pratap Singh said on Wednesday that the new policy was on the anvil. “Population policy of different states is being studied and the best from them is being culled out for our state which is the most populous in India,” Singh said, adding that a group of experts is reviewing a draft of the policy. UP’s population policy was last revised in 2000.

Family welfare director general Dr Badri Vishal , who is part of the expert group, pointed out that while southern states have been able to control their population, many north Indian states are struggling. “Several states, particularly Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh – which are smaller than us in terms of population – have rolled out schemes to de-incentivise too many children. In both the states, those with more than two children cannot contest panchayat elections. We propose to adopt this rule,” he said.

Sources said that withholding benefits under state government’s welfare schemes to those who have more than two children is another step which is being discussed. “Though this is a tough call, certain states do not reimburse school fee allowance to those government employees who have more than two children,” said an officer.

Another proposal is to bar men from entering certain state services if they have more than two children. “In 2001, Rajasthan rolled out its population control policy which doesn’t permit people with more than two children from entering state services,” said Dr Vishal.

The minister said that data suggests that the use of prevalent methods of family planning have increased but the pace of decline in UP’s total fertility rate has been slower than expected. “Therefore, some serious steps to deter couples from having too many children is being mulled,” he said.

Health department officials told TOI that UP’s total fertility rate or TFR (total number of children expected to be born to a woman in reproductive life span of 15 to 49 years) was three, which falls in the ‘high’ category. India’s TFR stands at 2.3. Of the 145 high TFR districts in the country, 40% are in UP alone.

The proposed policy change is in sync with BJP’s ideology voiced by senior leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who have underlined the need for population control.

PM Modi made a reference to population in his Independence Day speech stating that ‘a large population was a cause of concern’. A few days later, CM Yogi echoed the PM and stressed the importance of smaller families. On February 19, he had said that unemployment has increased because of excessive population.

