LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh today became the second BJP-ruled state to propose a two-child norm for extension of state government benefits and subsidies, besides seeking to bar violators from government jobs and local body elections.
The UP State Law Commission placed draft of the new UP Population (Control, Stabilisation and Welfare) Bill, 2021, in the public domain, seeking responses by July 19.
The draft Bill was unveiled on the eve of World Population Day (July 11), when Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will announce a new population policy for the state for 2021-2030.
The Bill, which has sparked a heated debate, limits ration card units to four and says those who violate the two-child norm after the Bill becomes a law will be denied government subsidies, benefits under government-sponsored schemes, eligibility to apply for a government job and contest local body poll.
The draft Bill shall come into force after one year from the date of publication in the gazette, states the draft legislation that proposes to incentivise government employees following the two-child norm with two increments through their service period.
They will be offered soft loans for house purchase, discounts on utility charges, 3 per cent raise in Employee Provident Fund, 12-month maternity or paternity leave with full salary and insurance cover for the spouse. The government employees voluntarily opting for family planning after the first child will get four additional increments, free healthcare and education for the child until it attains 20 years of age and preference to such children in admission to central institutes such as AIIMS and IITs.
Non-government sector people following the two-child policy will get subsidy on water and power charges, house tax and home loans.
The draft law says that in cases of polygamous marriages, each couple will be counted as one for the purpose of counting cumulative number of children. The Bill adds if a couple living below poverty line has one child and it undergoes voluntary sterilisation, it will be eligible to get a lump sum of Rs 80,000 if the single child is a boy and Rs 1 lakh, if the single child is a girl.
On June 20, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said the state would gradually implement the two-child policy to extend benefits of state government schemes to those who follow family planning norms.