MAHARASHTRA’S TWO-CHILD NORM FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

What is the ‘two children’ service rule for Maharashtra government employees, what are its provisions which, among others, mandate a declaration to be filed by the employees, and how has its enforcement been?

Why in news?

A woman officer from the Maharashtra Prison Department was dismissed from service after an inquiry revealed that she violated the Maharashtra Civil Services (Declaration of Small Family) rules because she suppressed the information from the authorities that she has three children.

Analysis

What is the case of dismissal of the prison officer in Maharashtra?

A circular issued by the Maharashtra Home Department on April 25 stated that an internal inquiry had revealed that a woman prison officer, who was posted as Superintendent, District Prison (Category II) in Pune suppressed the information that she had three children prior to her joining the department in 2012. The inquiry was initiated in 2016 after a complaint was received against her.

What is the ‘children norm’ or Maharashtra Civil Services (Declaration of Small Family) Rules, 2005?

Maharashtra is one of the few states in the countrythat have a ‘two children’ policy for appointment in government jobs or even for the elections of some local government bodies.
Other states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Gujarat, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Assam being the latest addition to the list in 2019.
The set of norms came into force in Maharashtra as Maharashtra Civil Services (Declaration of Small Family) Rules on March 28, 2005. The rules mandate filing a small family declaration at the time of applying for a government job.
The definition of child under these rules does not include adopted children. The rules make the Small Family norm an additional essential requirement for Groups A, B, C, D of Maharashtra government employees.
A person having more than two children more than two children on the date commencement of the rule (March 28, 2005), shall not be disqualified for appointment under these provisions so long as the number of children on the date of such commencement does not increase.
Also, provided that one or more than one children are born in a single delivery within an year of the commencement, shall not be considered for the disqualification of the rules.

The rules also empower the state government to give relaxation in ‘just and reasonable’ manner and mandates recording such reasons.

How has been the enforcement of this in Maharashtra till now?

As a policy it was also meant to discourage people from having more than two children by barring them from the prospects of government service.
The disqualifications of serving employees under the rules has been done but these cases are rare. In most instances, cases come to light when someone complaints to authorities about an employee having more than two children.
Many times these cases don’t stop at inquiry level but go into litigation in courts or administrative tribunals, with the employee in question challenging the decision.
While only a few states in the country have made mandatory rules for government employees and local level elections, the two child norm is something that calls for more informed consensus on the issue and wider implementation.
The union government has from time to time introduced the Promotion of Two Child Norm Bill.

Does India really need a two-child law?

Experts believe coercive family planning could have unintended impacts like selective and unsafe abortions and a further skew in the country’s sex ratio.

With fertility rates falling across states, India does not need a law enforcing a two-child norm as sought by a petitioner recently in the Supreme Court, experts told. Such a law could instead have unintended impacts – sex-selective and unsafe abortions and a further skew in India’s sex ratio.