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Centre decides to put off LS seat delimitation by 25 years

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government today decided to freeze till 2026 the current number of seats in the Lok Sabha, which is based on the 1971 census, to enable state governments to fearlessly pursue the national agenda to stabilise population.

The constituencies had been frozen for 25 years in 1976 and were due for a fresh delimitation next year after the 2001 census.

The National Population Policy, which was approved by the Union Cabinet today, lists 16 promotional and motivational measures for the adoption of the small family norm.

Revealing the policy, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare N T Shanmugam said the new measures include community-level incentives, a family welfare-linked health insurance scheme for couples below the poverty line who undergo sterilisation with not more than two living children, and continuance of the Balika Samridhi Yojana (girl child prosperity scheme) and Maternity Benefit Scheme.

Couples below the poverty line who marry after the legal age of marriage, have their first child after the mother completes 21 years of age, accept the small-family norm and adopt terminal methods of contraception after the birth of the second child will be rewarded, the minister told reporters in New Delhi.

He also announced that the prime minister would chair the newly constituted National Commission on Population. The chief ministers of all states/Union territories, the central minister in charge of family welfare, and other central ministries and departments concerned as well as reputed demographers, public health professionals and NGOs will be members of the commission.

The commission will oversee and review implementation of the NPP. The states are being requested to follow suit.

Shanmugam noted that nearly 12 per cent of the country's population has already achieved net replacement levels in nine states and Union territories. And about 33.5 per cent of the population in 11 states and Union territories is slowly reaching the goal of net replacement levels.

But nearly 55 per cent of the population in 12 states and Union territories continues to lag way behind and needs urgent provisioning of health infrastructure, supplies and services and trained health providers, the minister observed.

The objectives of the NPP 2000 are divided into immediate, medium-term and long-term. The first will address the unmet needs for contraception, health-care infrastructure, health personnel and integrated service delivery. The medium-term objectives are to bring the total fertility rate to replacement level by 2010 by a vigorous implementation of inter-sectoral strategies. Achieving a stable population by 2045 at a level consistent with the requirements of economic growth, social development and environmental protecton are the long-term aims of the policy.

UNI

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