Under pressure from its own party MLAs, the Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan may amend the two-child policy.
A government employee who opts for a third child is debarred from promotion while a person with three children is ineligible to apply for a government job.
However, home minister Gulab Chand Kataria on Wednesday hinted the state government was seriously considering doing away with this policy. “A final decision is yet to be taken but the matter is under consideration and the government is quite serious about removing this clause of ban on promotion of government employees who go in for a third child,” he said in his reply to ruling party MLA Nirmal Kumawat’s query during the question hour.
The basis for change in the government’s position on this matter perhaps comes from the claim that the child sex ratio has vastly improved in the state in the last five years. Mr Kataria boasted that due to effective monitoring of pregnant women and constant tracking of ultrasound machines, the average child sex ratio in the state has improved. “There were 888 girls for 1,000 boys according to the 2011 Census, but it has gone up to 929 in 2015,” the home minister claimed.
Interestingly, this is despite the fact that there is no abatement in female foeticide. The state has been reporting dumping of female foetus on regular basis.
The home minister himself has informed the house that in the last three years 274 female foetus were found across the state.
Besides, 575 infants were found dead and 186 children up to 6 years of age found unattended between January 2013 to January 31, 2016, he said.
BJP MLAs have been raising the demand of lifting the ban on promotion of government employees who have more than two children.
They said this policy was proving to be counter effective. Mr Kumawat, while demanding change in the policy, suggested that if a government employee has two daughters they should be considered one unit.
Randhir Singh Bhinder said Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have changed the two child norm and Rajasthan too should follow them so that female foeticide can be checked.
