Days after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged the minority Muslim community of the state to adopt a decent family planning policy to deal with grinding poverty and chronic social problems, he has now informed that population norms will be taken into action for providing government benefits.
While speaking on the matter on Friday (June 18), the Assam CM emphasised, “Be it loan waiver or other govt schemes, population norms will be taken into account. It won’t be applicable to tea garden workers/SC-ST community. In future, population norms will be taken into account as eligibility for govt benefits. Population policy has begun.”
He further added, “We will gradually incorporate a two-child policy for availing govt benefits. You can consider this an announcement.” Himanta Biswa Sarma pointed out that the limit would be kept on the higher side i.e. up to 4-5 children. Moreover, families of the tea gardeners, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes will be exempted from the policy.
No government jobs for people with more than two children in Assam
In a bid to stabilise the state’s population growth rate, the Assam Cabinet in October 2019 decided to bar people with more than two children from having government jobs in the state after January 1, 2021. In September 2017, the Assam Legislative Assembly had passed a resolution adopting the ‘Population and Women Empowerment Policy of Assam’. According to the policy, the state government proposed to bar anyone with more than two children from contesting municipal and panchayat elections, getting government jobs and other benefits.
No government jobs for people with more than two children in Assam
In a bid to stabilise the state’s population growth rate, the Assam Cabinet in October 2019 decided to bar people with more than two children from having government jobs in the state after January 1, 2021. In September 2017, the Assam Legislative Assembly had passed a resolution adopting the ‘Population and Women Empowerment Policy of Assam’. According to the policy, the state government proposed to bar anyone with more than two children from contesting municipal and panchayat elections, getting government jobs and other benefits.