Lakshadweep’s proposed two-child norm for panchayat polls ‘flawed’

It should take steps to contain further cut in Total Fertility Rate: Population Foundation of India

The Lakshadweep administration’s bid to impose a two-child norm defies all logic as the Union Territory (UT) has a low Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and an ageing population, says the Population Foundation of India. The UT has proposed a new regulation that makes any person with more than two children ineligible to contest panchayat polls. Neither can a person with more than two children be a member of a gram panchayat. “The proposed regulation is suicidal and defies all logic,” says executive director, Population Foundation of India, Poonam Muttreja. “Instead of imposing stringent population control measures, Lakshadweep needs to take steps to contain further reduction in TFR. Policies of enforcing a two-child norm, which we have seen before in other States too, come bundled with other gender-unfriendly policies and mindsets that burden women disproportionately.”