By PTI
NEW DELHI: A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking to make states and Union Territories as parties in a PIL that has sought certain steps, including the two-child norm, to control the country’s growing population.
The plea filed by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay said population explosion is the root cause of many problems, including the excessive burden on natural resources of the country.
Upadhyay had filed the PIL challenging a Delhi High Court order that dismissed a plea seeking certain steps, including the two-child norm, to control the country’s growing population.
The Centre has earlier told the SC that India was unequivocally against forcing family planning on its people and any coercion to have a certain number of children was counterproductive and leads to demographic distortions.
In an affidavit filed in the top court, the Centre had told the apex court that the family welfare programme in the country was voluntary in nature, which enabled couples to decide the size of their family and adopt family planning methods best suited to them, according to their choice and without any compulsion.
The PIL said the high court failed to appreciate that the right to clean air, drinking water, health, peaceful sleep, shelter, livelihood, and education guaranteed under Articles 21 and 21A of the Constitution could not be secured to all citizens without controlling the population explosion.
The plea in the high court had claimed that the population of India had marched ahead of China, as about 20 per cent of Indians did not have Aadhaar and therefore, were not accounted for, and there were also crores of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis living illegally in the country.
It claimed that population explosion was also the root cause of corruption, apart from being a contributory factor behind heinous crimes such as rape and domestic violence.
It also held population explosion responsible for pollution and the dearth of resources and jobs.