Experts sceptical over population control policy

Bengaluru faces the challenge of unchecked migration rather than a natural increase in population, they say

Demography experts say introducing population control measures similar to the one in the making in Uttar Pradesh, as earlier mooted by BJP officials in the city, don’t make any sense in Bengaluru.

The policy denies social welfare benefits and government jobs for those with more than two children.

The population of a city is determined by three factors: natural increase, migration, and boundary changes. Bengaluru is currently dealing with unchecked migration, says Dr C M Lakshmana, professor, Population Research Centre, Institute for Social and Economic Change.

“Currently, there is no need for such a policy in Karnataka. Our Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is at 1.7, and we have achieved replacement level fertility,” he explains.

The TFR in a specific year denotes the total number of children that would be born to each woman in the area, if she were to live to the end of her child-bearing years and give birth to children in alignment with the prevailing age-specific fertility rates. In India, the TFR is calculated for each state under the National Family Health Survey.

He says people are migrating to Bengaluru from other cities because they find no jobs there, and jobs are available aplenty here.

“Before, most migration took place from rural to urban areas. Now, urban to urban migration has increased exponentially as a result of socioeconomic disparities,” he says.

Bengaluru houses 36 per cent of the state’s entire population. This is more than the urban accumulation percentage in any other south Indian city, Lakshmana told Metrolife.

A situation like this causes environmental degradation and undue pressure on the city’s infrastructure. When the population increases beyond a point, health and well-being are affected, he observes.

Dr Shobha N Gudi, board member, Family Planning Association of India and professor and head of the obstetrics and gynaecology department, St Philomena’s Hospital, believes Bengaluru can benefit from such a policy.

“Our population has almost doubled in 15 years, and while other factors do play a role in this, there has also been a natural increase in population,” she says.

Instead of launching a coercive policy, the government needs to rephrase it and present a choice for women between having more children and enhancing careers and incomes, says Shobha.

Another demography expert believes a population control policy can turn out to be counterproductive. “Data and history both prove that when development goes up, population growth comes down automatically. A population control policy now may lead to female infanticide and gender discrimination,” she warns.

Leo F Saldhana, environmental activist, believes the government is only trying to cover up its failures with such a policy: “The bogey of population being a problem for social stability is a clever ploy to distract attention from the core problem of social and economic disparity caused by economic policies that force suffering on the poor and the working classes, while rewarding the super-rich with ugly wealth.”

Tara Krishnaswamy, activist and co-founder, Political Shakti and Citizens of Bengaluru, believes the policy is being used to communalise a problem.

“If they truly want to control the population, the focus needs to be on improving the per capita income and educating women,” she says.

Politicians need to stay away from the bedrooms of citizens and focus on things that actually matter, she says.