Mizoram’s sports minister Robert Romawia Royte has announced a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh to a living parent with the highest number of children in his Assembly constituency.
The first-time MLA from Aizawl East-2 said the intention behind the move announced on Sunday (coinciding with Father’s Day) was to encourage the growth of population among Mizo communities, the move coming at a time when neighbouring Assam is pushing for a two-child norm to check population.
The ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) MLA has already activated the municipal wards and seven councils in his constituency to identify the father or mother with the highest number of children so that he can give away the cash award this month itself.
“It is a personal initiative to boost the population of Mizo communities. Mizoram’s density of population is 52 per cent per sq km compared to the national average of 382 per sq km — the lowest in the country after Arunachal Pradesh (17 per sq km). I believe population is a potential asset,” Royte told The Telegraph when asked why he wants Mizo communities to have more children.
Mizoram’s population, according to the 2011 census, is 10,97,206 living in an area spread over 21,081 sq km. It has 0.09 per cent of India’s population of 1,21,08,54,977.
Royte, who is also the “president & proud owner” of the Aizawl Football Club, said the Church, NGOs, civil society and student organisations such as the influential Young Mizo Association were all advocating large families.
“ Mizos are appreciative of the initiative of the Church and NGOs for population growth which is inevitable for our survival and development. Falling population rate among Mizos is a cause of serious concern. I believe with a viable economic policy we can convert population into asset for sustainable development,” Royte said.
The minister also said the two-child norm policy being pursued by several states to control population growth may not work among smaller communities and in areas with low birth rate.
“What is good for UP may not be good for Mizoram. We need to be flexible in our approach. We need a flexible policy instead of a uniform policy,” Royte said.
The minister said he was aware of the two-child norm being pushed by the Assam government.
“As I said earlier, we need to pursue a policy which is best suited to each state,” Royte said.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said his government would go for phase-wise and gradual implementation of its two-child policy for receiving benefits under specific schemes funded by the state.
Sarma had on June 10 spoken about his government’s intention to control population growth, particularly among the minority community, identifying increasing numbers as the root causes of problems such as poverty, unemployment and encroachment.
Under the plan, those with more than two children might not be considered for state government benefits.
The Assam Assembly had in 2017 adopted the Population and Women Empowerment Policy of Assam. In 2019, the cabinet headed by then chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal adopted the two-child norm for government jobs and to initiate action against those with permanent jobs going for a third child. The measures were supposed to become effective from January 1, 2021.
The Centre had said in the Supreme Court last year that its family welfare programme was voluntary in nature, enabling "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".