"Population Explosion Is Root Cause Of 50% Of India's Problems" Plea In Supreme Court Seeking Population Control Guidelines

A plea has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking directions for framing of effective rules, regulations and guidelines to control population explosion, calling it the 'root cause of more than 50% problems of India'.

Firoz Bakht Ahmed, grandnephew of India's first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, has filed the PIL seeking directions to the Union of India to frame effective rules, regulations and guidelines to control population explosion in spirit of the 24th recommendation of National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (Justice Venkatchaliah Commission)

The plea filed through Advocate Ashutosh Dubey, has sought directions to the Centre to ascertain the feasibility of making Two Child Law as a criteria for Government jobs, aids and subsidies, right to vote, right to contest, right to property, right to free shelter etc.

Further, directions have been sought to the Government to declare First Sunday of every month as 'Health Day' in place of 'Polio Day' to spread awareness on population explosion and provide contraceptive pill, condoms, vaccines etc. to EWS and BPL families, with polio vaccines.

As an alternative relief the petitioner has sought directions to the Law Commission of India to prepare a comprehensive Report on Population Explosion within three months and suggest the ways to control it.

Mr Ahmed, who is the Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad, has opined that it is essential that a concerted and holistic approach is adopted for population control instead of stand-alone, sporadic one, and dispersed strategies are adopted in a variegated fashion across different states in the country.

While highlighting that the enormous population and the increasing rate of it is a big challenge, the petitioner has stated that lack of development implies high poverty, illiteracy, discrimination, lack of awareness, lack of medical facilities and thus in turn increased population growth.

Stressing on the importance to reduce discrimination, the plea has stated that any economy is termed developed if its population is non-discriminated, therefore by reducing gender discrimination and ensuring development of whole population instead of a given segment of society, the challenge of population growth would be eliminated.

[Firoz Bakht Ahmed vs Union of India]