Demand for law to check population

Going against government policy, an NGO on Monday revived the demand for a law on population control.

The Taxpayers Association of Bharat, which claims to have a reach in more than 400 districts, has planned to launch an extensive campaign to build public support in favour of such a law.

The demand for population control law is not new. It had been discarded by the government following extensive consultation with experts, who felt a law would be counterproductive and difficult to implement.

India’s population stabilisation policy favours a two-child norm, but as a voluntary measure. “The policy is not working. A law is required. During Independence, our population was 36 crore. Now we have 36 crore people living below poverty line,” said Manu Gaur, president of the organisation.

The NGO roped in noted agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan and several international wrestlers and Bollywood personalities to launch an intensive social media campaign.

Experts, however, have a different view. “A law on population control is not workable, not right and totally untenable. It should never even be thought out,” Poonam Muttreja, executive director of the Population Foundation of India told DH.

India’s current national total fertility rate (TFR) is around 2.3, while the health ministry’s target is to achieve a TFR of 2.1.