Assam Likely to Enforce 2 Child Policy Legislation During Next Month's Budget Session

GUWAHATI:

2 Child Policy in Assam: The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Assam BJP government has been in the spotlight for its bold assertion about the implementation of the two-child policy across the state.  This new legislation may be passed reportedly during the next month's budget session in the state assembly house.  Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, said on June 18 that his government will strictly adhere to the two-child policy while selecting beneficiaries for all welfare schemes in the coming days, which is a very drastic step. 

The two-child policy, originally proposed by the BJP-led government of Assam in 2017, aims to limit the state's rising population, which has been impeding overall growth. 

When asked about what the law brings to the table, Assam's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika said on Thursday that the state government is working on the specifics of the policy and how to execute it, but that nothing has been fully implemented yet. 

"We are planning. A lot of things need to be done on that. We are thinking about how it will be implemented," said the Minister. 

"We have already implemented the policy in case of panchayat elections but now we are extending it to state government jobs, Assam government beneficiary schemes and that's how we will expand the policy. But the finalisation of modalities are yet to be done," said Mr Hazarika added. 

According to the Chief Minister, because the State Government has already begun implementing the population control strategy, the selection of beneficiaries for the Government's various welfare schemes will henceforth be based on the two-child norm. The Chief Minister has said, however, that the Scheduled Tribes and the Tea Tribes are excluded from this. 

In a contentious comment, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that "social menaces" such as land encroachment could well be handled if immigrant Muslims follow family planning laws and manage their population. This attracted strong criticism from Assam's opposition Congress party, which accused the government of unfairly targeting the state's minority Muslim population, particularly those of Bangladeshi descent. 

"If the population explosion continues, one day even the Kamakhya temple land will be encroached upon. Even my house will be (encroached upon)," he added. 

A whole range of issues – from food security, maternal and child health, women's education and employability, aging, urbanization, and migration, emerging development challenges such as financial and economic issues (volatile energy situation, food prices, and unemployment), environmental issues including climate change, the shrinking base of agricultural land and negative ecological impact – are, at the end of the day related to population.

Moreover, while the population of Assam increased from 2.66 crores in 2001 to 3.12 crores in 2011, the state's population density has increased from 340 per square km in 2001 to 398 per sq km in 2011. The national average is 382. 

Chief Minister Dr. Sarma has announced his government's decision that individuals with more than two children will not be eligible for government jobs after January 1, 2021. More importantly, once the Assam Population Policy is strictly implemented, only families which do not have more than two children will be eligible for availing benefits under various welfare schemes like the Arunodoy and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, etc. 

The Chief Minister had last week also asked leaders of the All India United Minority Front (AIUDF) and All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) to motivate the immigrant Muslim community to adopt a "decent family planning" practice so that Assam does not have to lag on the socio-economic and development front.

It is a matter of significance that Chief Minister Dr. Sarma has a clear idea about demography and its intricate relationship with development, which has enabled him to take a bold and futuristic decision to strictly implement the two-child norm.  

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