Centre in its affidavit said the Family Welfare Programme in India is voluntary (Representational)
The Central government has submitted before the Supreme Court that it is against the involuntary methods of family planning for population control and added that Family Welfare Programme in India is voluntary in nature.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in its affidavit filed on December 7, said the Family Welfare Programme in India is voluntary in nature, which enables couples to decide the size of their family and adopt the family planning methods, best suited to them, according to their choice, without any compulsion.
The affidavit was filed on a petition moved by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay to control the population explosion in India by introducing a population control law.
In fact, the government said 2001-2011 witnessed the sharpest decline in decadal growth rate among Indians in 100 years, the Centre said in its affidavit.
It said India was a signatory to the Programme Of Action (POA) of the International Conference on Population and Development, 1994, which was unequivocally against coercion in family planning.
It added that international experience shows that "any coercion to have a certain number of children is counter-productive and leads to demographic distortions." The government also explained that India had been witnessing a "constant decline" in the total fertility rate (TFR).
The Central government referred to the Census statistics, according to which it said, "2001-2011 was the first decade in the last 100 years which had not only added lesser population as compared to the previous one, but also registered the sharpest decline in the decadal growth rate from 21.54 per cent in 1991-2001 to 17.64 per cent in 2001-2011".
The Total Fertility Rate, which was 3.2 at the time when National Population Policy 2000, was adopted has declined substantially to 2.2 as per the Sample Registration System of 2018.
The government asserted that "the wanted fertility in India as per National Family Health Survey IV is only 1.8 as against the actual fertility of 2.2 prevailing at that time, indicating thereby that couples on an average do not want more than two children. Also, as many as 25 out of 36 States/UTs have already achieved the replacement level fertility of 2.1 or less."
It told the top court that there is a National Health Policy (NHP) 2017, which provided for policy guidance to inform, clarify, strengthen and prioritise the role of the government in shaping health systems in all its dimensions. It added that the NHP sets out indicative, quantitative goals and objectives, which includes the achievement of TFR of 2.1 by 2025.
The Centre also said public health is a state subject and it is of the view that the state must lead the process for health sector reforms in a suitable and sustainable manner to protect the common individual from health hazards.
Earlier, the top court had sought Ministry's response on the plea, which highlighted the problem of population explosion, terming the same as being more potent than a bomb explosion.
"Population explosion is more dangerous than bomb explosion and without implementing effective population control measures, Healthy India, Literate India, Prosperous India, Resourceful India, Strong India, Secured India, Sensitive India, Clean India and Corruption and Crime-Free India campaign won't succeed," the plea said.
The appeal was filed before the top court after the Delhi High Court dismissed Mr Upadhyay's plea in September last year.