Assam relaxes two-child policy for ST, SC, Tea Garden, Moran and Matak communities

The Assam government on December 5 formally diluted its two-child policy for several indigenous communities, allowing members of Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, tea garden workers, and the Moran and Matak groups to have up to three children without losing access to key government benefits, employment opportunities or electoral eligibility. 

A notification issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department stated that the amendment to the Population and Women Empowerment Policy of Assam, 2017 has come into immediate effect.

Commissioner and Secretary Patibandla Ashok Babu, in the order, clarified that this relaxation permits individuals from these communities to apply for government jobs, contest elections and receive incentives for Self Help Groups even if they have three children. The move follows the Cabinet decision on October 23 to exempt ST, tea garden, Moran and Matak communities from the restrictive two-child norm.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, after the Cabinet meeting at the time, said the decision aimed to ensure the demographic survival of these groups, warning that a strict population restriction would erode their identity over the coming decades. He argued that maintaining the two-child limit for these communities could lead to their extinction within 50 years.

The two-child policy was introduced in January 2021 for direct recruitment under the Assam Public Services (Application of Small Family Norms) Rules, 2019. It was also applied to gaon panchayat elections via a 2018 amendment to the Assam Panchayat Act, which additionally mandated minimum educational qualifications and access to sanitary toilets. 

The BJP-led government has supported strict implementation of population norms in the state, but has now carved out exemptions for communities it considers vulnerable.