News Analysis India

Tag: UP population policy

  • We’ll implement whatever is in favour of Uttarakhand: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on population control

    By ANI
    DEHRADUN: Just days after Uttar Pradesh unveiled its proposed population control policy, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke on the matter and said that his government will implement whatever is in favour of the people of Uttarakhand.

    While speaking to the reporters yesterday on whether the state would bring a law on population control, Dhami said, “Law on population control, land laws, various other laws and acts which are already in place will be implemented if it is in the favour for the people of Uttarakhand.”

    This comes in the backdrop of the Population Policy 2021-2030 unveiled by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adtyanath on Sunday.

    Yesterday, Uttarakhand BJP leaders held a meeting in the state titled “Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mission 2022”. After the meeting was concluded, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and BJP State President Madan Kaushik addressed the media personnel.

    “Today, we gave the slogan ‘Yuva Mukhyamantri–60+ seats’ and with this resolution we started the election campaign (for 2022 Assembly polls). We’ll go with this programme among the people and other works we’ve done,” said Kaushik.

    Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke on the upcoming Kanwar yatra to be held in the state and said that God would not like anyone to die, amidst the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Kanwar Yatra is not solely a matter for the state of Uttarakhand. Kanwar yatra is a matter of shraddha (reverence) and aastha (faith). God would not like anyone to die,” said the Chief Minister.

    As per the Hindu traditions, Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage of devotees of Shiva to Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand wherein devotees fetch holy waters of the Ganga River and seek blessings of God.

    This comes around a time when Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said that the Kanwar Yatra is not a one-state affair and the state government will take the decision regarding the yatra after discussing with other states, including Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

  • Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath unveils new population policy for state

    By IANS
    LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday unveiled the new population policy 2021-30, on the occasion of World Population Day.

    Through the proposed policy, efforts will be made to increase the accessibility of contraceptive measures issued under the Family Planning Programme and provide a proper system for safe abortion and on the other hand, through improved health facilities, efforts will be made for population stabilization by providing accessible solutions to impotence/infertility and reducing the infant and maternal mortality rate.

    Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that bringing the bill is necessary to control and stabilize the population to promote sustainable development with more equitable distribution. He also underlined the need or creating awareness among the people on this issue.

    In the new Population Policy, a target has been set to bring the birth rate to 2.1 per thousand population by 2026 and to 1.9 by 2030.

    One of the key points in the new policy is to make comprehensive arrangements for the care of the elderly, apart from better management of education, health, and nutrition of adolescents between 11 to 19 years.

    The period of Population Policy 2000-16 of the state has ended and now a new policy is the need of the hour.

    The new policy has an innovative proposal to set up ‘Health Clubs’ in schools with the awareness efforts for population stabilization, as well as a system for digital tracking of infants, adolescents, and elderly people in line with the spirit of the Digital Health Mission.

    While preparing the new population policy, efforts have been made to maintain the – demographic balance in all the communities; easy availability of advanced health facilities, and to bring down the maternal and child mortality rate to the minimum level through proper nutrition.

    Meanwhile, the State Law Commission has also prepared the draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization, and Welfare) Bill-2021, on which the public can give suggestions till July 19. In the draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization, and Welfare) Bill-2021 issued by the State Law Commission, ‘Bacche Do He Acche’ has been highlighted.

    According to the proposal, parents who limit their family to only two children and are in government service and undergoing voluntary sterilization will be given facilities like two additional increments, promotion, exemption in government housing schemes, increasing employer contribution in PF.

    There are also provisions to provide exemptions in water, electricity, house tax, home loan, and other such facilities to couples with two children who are not in government jobs.

    If the law is implemented, then within a year, all government officials, employees, and elected representatives of local bodies will have to give an affidavit that they will not violate this policy. Ration cards would be limited to four units.

    It is proposed in the draft that the election can be cancelled if the rules are broken. The single child will get preference in admission in all educational institutions including but not limited to the Indian Institute of Management and All India Institute of Management Science.

    Free education up to graduation level, scholarship for higher studies in case of a girl child and preference to the single child in government jobs are other benefits which couples with a single child will receive.

    The draft bill further explains, “(a) The personal law governing A allows polygamy. A has three wives B, C and D. A and B, A and C, and A and D shall be counted as three distinct married couple so far as the status of B, C and D is concerned but as far as the status of A is concerned, it shall be counted as one married couple for the purpose of calculation of cumulative number of children. For example, A has one child from B, two children from C and one child from D, the total number of children of A shall be four. (b) The personal law governing B allows polyandry. B has two husbands A and C. B and A shall be counted as one married couple. B and C shall be counted as another married couple.”

    This Act shall be called the Uttar Pradesh population (Control, stabilization and Welfare) Act, 2021, and it will extend to the whole of the state. It will come into force after one year from the date of publication in the Gazette.

    A State Population Fund would be constituted, and it will be utilized to implement this Act.