By IANS,
Chennai: Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Thursday said India is sitting on a “population growth volcano” and that the worrying aspect is “nobody is talking about family planning and birth control”.
Launching Tamil Nadu government’s Kalaignar Insurance Scheme for Life Saving Treatment, a health insurance scheme for the poor here, he said: “India is sitting on a volcano of growing population. Nobody is talking about family planning and birth control.”
He said the country’s population is growing at a geometrical rate and India houses 17 percent of the world’s population on a total landscape of 2 percent.
“The two percent landscape is shrinking fast owing to construction activity.”
According to him, the country has to look at ways to stabilise population growth.
“While the southern states have done better in family planning, the northern, western, eastern and central parts of India have to rise to the occasion,” Azad said.
Speaking on the occasion Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Karunanidhi requested Azad to ask the finance ministry to waive the Rs.48 crore service tax paid by the state government on the Rs.517 crore payout towards the insurance premium under the Kalaignar Insurance Scheme.
“The state government can foot the premium bill. All it wants is the waiver of the service tax on the premium amount,” he said.
The insurance is offered by the city-based health insurer Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd for the members of various welfare boards set up by the Tamil Nadu government.
The scheme is expected to benefit over 10 million families with an annual income of less than Rs.72,000.
Each family can avail treatment for critical ailments — around 51 identified procedures — up to Rs.100,000 at private and pay wards of government hospitals.
On the occasion, Karunanidhi surprised everyone by announcing that his official residence at Gopalapuram — valued at Rs.8 crore (Rs.80 million) — will be converted into a charitable hospital after he and his wife are dead.