Control population, PM warns States

NEW DELHI, JULY 22: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Saturday announced the setting up of a National Population Stabilisation Fund a...

NEW DELHI, JULY 22: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Saturday announced the setting up of a National Population Stabilisation Fund and also warned the state governments to prevent the population from exploding to unmanageable limits.

The Government also proposes to set up an empowered action group to prepare area-specific programmes, with special emphasis on states that are lagging behind in containing the population growth to manageable limits, he said inaugurating the first meeting of the National Commission on Population here.

The National Population Stabilisation Fund will provide a window for canalising money from voluntary sources and is being specifically set up for projects aimed at population stabilisation. Vajpayee said the exact amount of the fund would be decided in consultation with the Finance Ministry.

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In his address, Vajpayee highlighted the states’ responsiibility in containing the population, saying that "it is virtually impossible for any state to meet the legitimate requirements of its people if its population continues to gallop from one high to another".

The Prime Minister said some Indian states, such as Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, have shown exemplary performance in containing their population numbers and are repaying the benefits of investing in literacy, expecially women education, health care services and awareness campaigns.

At the other end of the spectrum are Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh which have high mortality and fertility rates.

Vajpayee pinpointed lack of political as well as popular will to tackle the population problem, lack of universal access to basic health care facilities, high child mortality rates and low literacy rates as the major reasons for the country crossing the one billion mark.

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Conceding that there were flaws as well as lapses in the implementation of the national Family Planning programme, he said harsh realities persist despite numerous population – related programmes and huge sums of money being spent by Government.

India is the second most populous country in the world, and with only 2.5 per cent of global land, it is home to nearly 17 per cent of the world’s population.

The country has a high child mortality rate, with as many as 100 out of every 1,000 of Indian children under five and more than 200 out of every 1,000 of children under 15 running the risk of a premature death.

More than half of Indian children under four are undernourished, 30 per cent of newborns are underweight and 60 per cent of women anaemic.