THE Uttar Pradesh Government is promulgatin a new policy to tame population explosion in the country’s most populous State. The population policy will focus on efforts to increase the accessibility of contraceptive measures issued under the Family Planning Programme and provide a proper system for safe abortion. The Uttar Pradesh Government will give promotions, increments, concessions in housing schemes and other perks to employees who adhere to population control norms, and have two or less children.

 

“Public servants who adopt the two-child norm will get two additional increments during the entire service, maternity or as the case may be, paternity leave of 12 months, with full salary and allowances and three per cent increase in the employer’s contribution fund under the National Pension Scheme,” according to UP Government’s draft Population Control Bill. For those who are not Government employees and still contribute towards keeping the population in check, will get benefits like rebates in taxes on water, housing, home loans etc. If the parent of a child opts for vasectomy, he/she will be eligible for free medical facilities till the age of 20. Another focus area of the new population policy is to reduce the newborns’ and maternal mortality rate. Care of the elderly, and better management of education, health, and nutrition of adolescents between 11 to 19 years has also been ensured in the policy, according to the State Government. The State Government plans to set up a State population fund to implement the measures. The draft bill also asks the State Government to introduce population control as a compulsory subject in all secondary schools. It cites strain on resources due to growing population as the need to have a population control policy in place. “It is necessary and urgent that the provision of basic necessities of human life including affordable food, safe drinking water, decent housing, access to quality education, economic/livelihood opportunities, power/electricity for domestic consumption, and a secure living is accessible to all citizens,” the draft bill reads. The provision of this legislation shall apply to a married couple where the boy is not less than 21 years of age and the girl is not less than 18. The UP Law Commission, which has prepared the draft bill, said that the policy will be voluntary - it will not be enforced upon anyone.

 

Though the announcement has created quite a commotion across the country, with leaders fighting for and against the policy draft, if objectively seen, it is a path-breaking and bold initiative that is much needed in a country like India. For decades we have been doing all the talking about population explosion and its adverse implications on our limited resources, but there has hardly been any major policy shift to cap population surge by any stringent provisions of law. The approach has been slack and customary despite things spiraling out of control and each of us knowing very well that unbridled population rise is detrimental to the country’s growth and people’s prosperity. No country can afford to endlessly feed, clothe and replenish an ever-rising population, unless there is some check somewhere. In a country still fraught with illiteracy, superstitious and economic considerations, population control is always going to be a Herculean task that can only be accomplished by stringent laws in place.

 

To pander to popular politics, no party or Government has dared to ever bring any strong provisions to check population. This is for the first time that we have seen a departure from the beaten track and thus people have been taken by awe and surprise. Sooner or later, this law, when it comes to force, will be accepted by and large by the people. Though, nothing will be imposed on the public, and population control measures adopted by individuals will only be rewarded, it is very likely that the younger generation of the populace will buy into the merits of the policy and endorse it wholeheartedly. The urban millennials are themselves going for the one-child norm in most cases and the trend is picking up. There are more childless couples now than ever before and the adoption rate is also rising. People’s thoughts are undergoing major changes in this transition period of history where the present is challenging and the future uncertain. Having more and more children is no longer the priority of the youth. Most of the 80s and 90s kids remember the stressed resources their parents managed with to raise their kids.

 

These youth don’t want to bring the same experience to their kids and hence go for the minimum, so that there is always scope for maneuvering and there is never any financial crunch that comes in feeding several mouths. Money comes hard and no one wants to waste much in today’s times on an emotional baggage that prods the heart to have more kids. Smaller families are happier because they have more of everything at their disposal and this is a lucrative idea people can see merit in. There is no harm if the Government comes in support of such a trend and encourages more people to change their traditional mindset for a more modern update. Many countries and societies have adopted such Government-backed norms and have reaped rewards in the long-run.

 

Population is India’s biggest bane. In some years from now, we will be one of the countries with the largest geriatric population, which comes with its own set of problems. We will always fall short of medical and education facilities for kids and the elderly if the population is allowed to grow unbridled. We are already short of space as our cities are choking and spilling out to encroach jungles and wetlands, damaging ecosystems and wildlife. We don’t have parking spaces, we don’t have parks and open spaces to breath and recreate, we don’t have adequate greenery and water bodies, our pollution levels are the highest in the world, our courts are deluged with cases, lakhs of which are pending for years, our police are stressed out, trains and buses are packed beyond capacity, the roads are clogged, there are endless queues in college admissions, but no jobs for the millions of graduating youth every year. Tthere is shortage of power and millions of dollars are spent on importing fuel, doctors are numbered and so are hospital beds, farm resources are stressed, half of our women are anemic and children stunted, our maternal and infant mortality rates are high and human development index low – the negatives of high population are endless and unless timely measures are adopted keeping in view our future capacity and challenges, these problems will only intensify and overwhelm us with greater vengeance and frequency.

 

There has to be a time when strong decisions need to be taken for the betterment of the country and society. Not everyone might see the advantages now but a good leader has a vision and he is ahead of his times, who knows exactly what he is doing and how the benefits are going to unravel. By the way, it is prudent for other States too to follow UP and put in place some norms that at least dissuade people from going gaga over their reproductive facility and extracting the most out of it. Mindless multiplication of progeny may bring happiness to the family, but distress and misery to the country, which eventually amounts to digging our own graves. Because, if the country prospers, we do.