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The expert committee set by the Uttarakhand government on a Uniform Civil Code, that is all set to submit its report and likely to be the template for a Central law, has taken into consideration a Private Member’s Bill moved in Parliament seeking a two-child norm for government jobs.
Sources said that while the Bill’s provisions are part of the report, it has not been finalised yet whether they would also be a part of the draft legislation on UCC that the committee is expected to formulate for the state government.
The Private Member’s Bill had been moved in Parliament by BJP MP and present minister Sanjeev Balyan in 2018. As per the Uttarakhand panel report, around 125 MPs signed the Bill, called ‘The Responsible Parenthood Bill’.
The Bill sought that no person shall, after a period of 10 months from the date of commencement of the Act, “procreate more than two living children”; and that, if “any person procreates third child after having two living children”, such person shall be responsible for upbringing of that child without any facility from the government.
The Bill also called for incentivising couples who after two children maintain the two-child norm, and a provision for relaxation of the norm in case a couple loses a child or if their child suffers from a disability.
It further laid down rules for what would happen in case of divorce and remarriage, involving spouses who were already parents.
In his “statement of objects and reasons” for the Bill, Balyan said: “The root cause of (a) majority of the problems being faced by the country is uncontrolled growth of population… India has only 2.4 per cent landmass of the world, upon which 18 per cent of the world’s total population resides… In spite of achieving outstanding success in areas of industrialisation, science and technology, the task of fulfilling the basic needs of all the citizens of the country has become extremely tough and challenging.”
Talking about the consequent over-exploitation of natural resources, Balyan cited an article by the late Stephen Hawking on humans needing “a new planet” to live in within the next 100 years, if things didn’t change.
The BJP MP added: “Rising above party politics, several enlightened and awakened parliamentarians had presented Private Member Bills regarding population control. From the time of freedom attainment till now, around 34 Private Member Bills have been introduced regarding population control, and of which maximum Bills were presented by 15 Congress Members of Parliament. Also, various Members of Parliament including seven from BJP, five from TDP, two from AIADMK and one each from Trinamool Congress, RSP, Samajwadi Party, MNS and RJD had presented Private Member Bills in connection with population control. But not even once discussion could take place in Parliament on such a serious issue.” Balyan said.
He also talked about the 79th Constitutional Amendment Bill moved by then Congress Health and Family Welfare Minister M L Fotedar in 1992 in the Rajya Sabha, saying “the State shall endeavour to promote population control and small family norm” and calling for disqualification of a member of the House for violating the norm, which was still pending.
“Recently, a memorandum was given to Hon’ble President by 125 parliamentarians. In spite of that, whenever a question regarding population control is asked in Parliament, then it has been repeatedly asserted by Government of India citing I.C.P.D. (International Conference for Population and Development) that India is binded to its rules, due to which population control law cannot be enacted.”
However, Balyan added, “after examination of I.C.P.D., it was found that if Government wishes, then even after following the limits of I.C.P.D., India may enact an effective law in this regard and the declaration letter of I.C.P.D. does not limit in any way the freedom of any country to take actions for adopting population control and family planning measures for its people in accordance with its legal provisions and culture”.
Urging the government to act, Balyan said: “It has happened for the first time in independent India that the caretakers of this country have expressed their inability for nurturing this ever increasing population of the country….”
Citing numbers to show that “India has left China way behind in terms of population”, Balyan said that “even after family planning programmes that have been going on for the last 70 years, and spending Rs 2.25 lakh crore… worth of taxpayers’ money since 1974 on family planning programmes, 15,76,47,124 women were having more than two children”.
“Due to ever increasing population, the problems of poverty, unemployment, pollution, adulteration and crimes are also increasing by leaps and bounds. To avoid the tough situations of future, Government of India shall have to take special steps in the direction of population control on an urgent basis. In the name of (the) right to reproduction, we cannot throw the precious future and life of our crores of yet to (be) born children into the den of darkness and such a horrible situation cannot be tackled only on the basis of awareness. Population stabilisation is extremely important keeping in mind the national interests. That is why along with awareness the need is also to have (an) appropriate legislation to check the rapid population growth in the country,” Balyan said.
