The Uttar Pradesh Law Commission on Monday submitted the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Draft Bill to the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s Office for consideration and further action. The bill aims to bring down the gross fertility rate in the state by disincentivising more than two children per couple, and offering benefits to those abiding the two-child policy.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the draft Bill proposes to deny government benefits to those couple who have more than two children, and bar them from contesting local body polls, applying for government jobs, or receiving any kind of government subsidy.
Panel chairperson Justice Aditya Nath Mittal said the report and the draft bill of The Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation and Welfare) Bill, 2021 were submitted to the Chief Minister. The initial version of draft Bill was published on the Law Commission’s website on July 9, and suggestions from the public were invited until July 19. The revised draft had been submitted to the office of submitted to the Chief Minister’s office.
Commission Secretary Sapna Tripathi reportedly said that the Commission had received 8,500 suggestions, including from SC and HC judges and lawyers, and around 99.5 per cent people had favoured a population control law, Tripathi said.
“For every nationalist the increasing population is a matter of concern. The Ayog has an opinion that there should be an independent law for population control, and those following the two-child family policy should be encouraged and those violating it should be prohibited from state welfare schemes and from contesting local body elections,” the Commission said in a statement issued on Monday.
However, the proposed bill does not apply to people who already have more than the children. The bill states that a person would be considered in breach of the two-child norm if they have more than two living children, one of whom is born on or after the appointed date.
The policy shall come into force on a date notified by the government, which shall be a year from the date of publication of the Act in the Gazette, the draft bill stated.
Therefore, those who already have two children can have a third with no repercussions, as long as they have it within a year of notification of the Act.
It added that a person would be considered in compliance with the policy if they or their spouse undergo voluntary sterilisation, or if the wife has attained the age of 45 years and their youngest child is 10 years old.
The draft bill rules a person who adopts the two-child policy will receive government subsidy benefits on the purchase of a plot or house site from the housing board or the development authority. They will also be eligible for a soft loan to build or buy a house on nominal rates of interest; rebates on water and electricity charges, house tax, and sewerage charges; and free healthcare and insurance cover for spouse.
The bill also states that a person following one-child policy will be provided additional benefits such as free healthcare facility and insurance cover to the single child till the age of 21 years, preference to the single child in admission to all recognised educational institutions; free education up to graduation in prescribed manner; scholarship for higher studies in case of girl child; and preference to single child in state government jobs in their respective categories.
The report added that the draft Bill have certain exceptions. It states that if a person with one child has two or more children through a single subsequent pregnancy after the appointed date, the children of the subsequent pregnancy shall be counted as only one child; a child who suffers from disability from birth will not be taken into account.
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