The Supreme Court issued a notice on Friday to the central government urging it to frame rules, regulations, and guidelines for effectively mitigating the issue of overpopulation. Besides tagging it with similar pending pleas, the bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and KM Joseph has sought a response from the centre on this matter.

The petition filed by Dandi Swami Jeetendranand Saraswatee, General Secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti, stated that the population is increasing gradually. Since the natural resources are limited, it is imperative to bring about population control measures.

Public Interest Litigation (PIL) further adds that the state cannot look another way round when there is a drastic increase in unemployment and poverty, limitation of food supply, inadequate healthcare facilities, etc. To protect the fundamental rights of millions of Indian citizens, the PIL sought a direction to the centre to frame effective rules, regulations, and guidelines.  The PIL also said that overpopulation causes various other serious issues that adversely affect the conditions of life.

The litigation directs the government to spread awareness about overpopulation and associated repercussions. It argued that Sunday of every month should be declared as ‘Health Day’ and population control measures such as contraceptive pills, and condoms need to be distributed to Economically Backward Classes and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.