Population control only through awareness: UP

Lucknow, Dec 6 (UNI) The Uttar Pradesh government today asserted that it could use awareness as the only tool to enforce population control in the most populace state of the country.

Making a reply during Question Hour, State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Lalji Verma said the government would not use other means to enforce polulation control and believed public awareness was the only effective means to meet the target.

He said in the year 2000, Uttar Pradesh had adopted a population policy which had aimed to bring fertility rate to 2.1 per cent by the year 2016. The current fertlity rate was 3.82 per cent, whereas it was 6.6 per cent in 1975.

As per the policy, efforts were being made to keep the state population at 36 crore in 2051 even as the expected population by that year was pegged at 44 crore.

Satyendra Solanki (RLD), while raising the question said 55 per cent of India's babies were born in Uttar Pradesh. ''The World Health Organisation (WHO) claims that by the year 2050, India's population would surpass China.'' The RLD member suggested that UP should also debar people with more than two children from contesting local elections.

Ms Shadab Fatima (SP) suggested that the government should seriously consider one child norm to control population.

UNI