Author: Pioneer News Service
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: October 24, 2007
'Taxpayers can't go on paying for so many
children'
The Government's decision to dispense with
the cap on number of children of mothers benefited under a Union Health Ministry
scheme came under attack on Tuesday from the Supreme Court, which criticised
the move for being anti-people.
The National Maternal Benefit Scheme (NMBS) of 1995 started with an aim to
provide maternal care to pregnant mothers living below poverty line, proposed
Rs 500 for up to two live births delivered by mothers who are 19 years and
above. In 2005, the scheme got replaced by Janani Suraksha Yojana. This opened
benefits to as many children born to mothers living in dire poverty with no
age bar fixed to determine the beneficiary mothers.
Calling to question the Government's intent,
the Supreme Court found that the Government scheme did not work well with
the avowed goal of family welfare measures undertaken across the country.
Seen from a different perspective, the policy
adversely affects the Government's efforts to curb child marriages. The age
under the NMBS was fixed at 19 years, since 18 years is the minimum age of
marriage for girls. This essentially means that on one hand where the Government
seeks to prevent child marriages, on the other it is willing to dole out benefits
to minor girls who become mothers as a result of child marriages.
Dealing with a public interest litigation
on this subject, the Bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and SH Kapadia said,
"There should be some control over the population. The benefit cannot
continue for six to seven children per mother. The taxpayers cannot go on
paying for so many children. We have to put a curb there."
Dealing with a petition filed by the People's
Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), the Court reserved its order to be pronounced
on a later date. The remark by the bench came in response to the submission
made by Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran who represented the Centre
in the case. He told the court that the new scheme Janani Suraksha Yojana
was introduced in 2005 to remove the cap on two-child norm for benefiting
more pregnant mothers.
The apex court also chided the Union Government
for its failure to rein in the State Governments most of which are reportedly
diverting the funds earmarked for the 100 per cent centrally sponsored scheme.
Initially, under the scheme pregnant women of the BPL (below poverty line)
and APL (above poverty line) families were entitled to a cash assistance of
Rs 500 per delivery restricted to a maximum of two deliveries.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves who appeared
for the NGO stressed on poor utilisation of the disbursals under the 100 per
cent centrally-funded scheme. The Bench asked Parasaran to explain whether
the Centre had any guideline to ensure proper utilisation of the grants under
the present scheme. "The less the utilisation, the better it is for the
Centre," the Bench said.
