Bill on population control moved in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI, AUG 18: A private member's Bill, which seeks to strictly enforce the two-children norm and debar members of the public flouting...

NEW DELHI, AUG 18: A private member’s Bill, which seeks to strictly enforce the two-children norm and debar members of the public flouting it from contesting elections and holding office, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha today.

`The Population Control Bill, 2000′ was introduced by BJP member Rajeev Shukla with the aim of “providing measures and methods for control of population”. Moving the Bill, Shukla said the tremendous increase in population had offset all benefits of development and was also the reason why basic facilities were not available to all citizens.

Shukla said a new policy based on “incentives and disincentives” to control the population was desperately needed as the previous approach of generating awareness about benefits of small family had not produced the desired results.

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He said India’s population was increasing by 1.5 crore every year and this unmanageable growth was responsible for problems like unemployment, insanitary conditions and haphazard growth of urban centres in India.

The Bill seeks to make politicians having more than two children ineligible for contesting elections to civic bodies, Parliament and state assemblies. In case of the third child being born after the member’s election, he or she should face disqualification, the Bill proposes.

Among other `disincentives’, the Bill proposes to debar those flouting the two-children norm from availing of bank loans, becoming members of cooperative societies, getting ration cards or making use of the public distribution system (PDS).

On the incentive side, the Bill proposes cash rewards to parents sticking to the two-child norm and priority to their children in admissions to schools and universities. Besides involving NGOs and the media into population control measures, the Bill seeks to supply condoms and birth control pills through panchayat offices and rural post offices.

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The Bill proposes to introduce a provision of incentives like preferential promotions and one month’s salary for the employees of Government and semi-Government organisations.