"The higher rate of population growth should not be seen as of no consequence."

Semarang (ANTARA News) - Lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari said regional autonomy after the political reform in Indonesia is one of the factors slowing the implementation of family planning program in the country."A drastic decline has been recorded in the number of civil servants in charge of extension of family planning program," the deputy chairwoman of the faction of opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle in the House of Representatives, said.Originally an officer was put in charge of family planning extension for 1-2 villages, now an officer is made in charge of 4-6 villages, she told ANTARA News here on Thursday.In addition, there was weak support from regional administrations for the success of family planning program, she said, adding family planning voluntary workers need financial support to cover transport and operational costs."No wonder that population growth rate is higher after the implementation of the regional autonomy law," she said.She cited the population growth of East Java increased from 0.69 percent to 0.76 percent a year, based on data from the provincial office of the National Population of Family Planning Agency in 2010."The higher rate of population growth should not be seen as of no consequence," she said speaking at a meeting on "Population and Sustainable Development attended by 70 family planning volunteers and local family planning officials in Tulungagung, Central Java.(Uu.AS/H-ASG/O001)