The Maharashtra Civil Services (Declaration of Small Family) Rule of 2005:
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
- The Maharashtra Civil Services (Declaration of Small Family) Rule of 2005 defines a small family as wife, husband, and two children and stipulates that a person is not eligible for a job with Maharashtra Government if he or she has more than two children after 2005.
- Maharashtra is one of the few states in the country that 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.
