Sonia punches holes in nation’s population policy

NEW DELHI, JULY 22: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today said the National Population Policy had certain "inherent contradictions&qu...

NEW DELHI, JULY 22: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today said the National Population Policy had certain "inherent contradictions" and expressed doubts over availability of sufficient funds for its implementation.

"The policy document has inherent contradictions. It has not been spelt out what mechanism should be put in place for coordination among various ministries and departments of state governments," she told the first meeting of the National Commission on Population.

She warned that the policy would fail if it did not seriously address the issue of implementation and coordination.

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Gandhi said her party had serious doubts whether there would be enough budget allocation and if the earmarked targets would be achieved within a given time frame.

She said `bimaru’ states – Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa – with high population growth rates called for "very special management".

She said the policy should ensure that gains of development reached vulnerable sections and assured full cooperation of states ruled by her party in its implementation.

Gandhi suggested that for the success of the policy government should earmark special funds and supervise population control programmes.