'Population imbalance' should not be allowed to happen: Adityanath

Lucknow, July 11: Expressing concerns over the growing population, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said population control programme must go ahead successfully but at the same time "population imbalance" should not be allowed to happen.

"When we talk about family planning/population stabilisation, we have to keep in mind that the population control programme must go ahead successfully, but at the same time, a situation of population imbalance should not be allowed to happen," Yogi Adityanath said at a function here.

He said programmes pertaining to awareness of population stabilisation have been running for the past five decades. On one scale, population is an achievement of the society, but this will remain an achievement only when the society remains healthy and disease-free, he added.

"If we have skilled manpower, it is an achievement for the society, but where there are diseases, shortage of resources and disorder, population explosion becomes a challenge on its own," the chief minister's office tweeted in Hindi.

Stating that Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in the country, Adityanath noted, "ASHA sisters, Aaganwadi workers, village pradhans, teachers and others can work together with the health department. Collective efforts are needed in this direction."

Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak and Minister of State for Health Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh were also present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, India is projected to surpass China as the world's most populous country next year, according to a report by the United Nations on Monday which said that the world population is forecast to reach eight billion by mid-November 2022.

The global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under one per cent in 2020.

The latest projections by the United Nations suggest that the world's population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050.