"We will have to check it (rapid growth of population) at any cost," she told a rally of field level officials and employees of Family Welfare Department at Paltan Maidan here.

The PM apprehended that unless effective steps could be taken the existing trend of population growth would make the population size 17.20 crore in 2020 dwindling further the cultivable land, squeezing the living space for people and endangering further the already endangered environment.

Besides, she said, such a situation would also make it difficult to offer the basic healthcare for the people.

According to official estimates, the current population growth rate is 1.43 percent against 2.01 percent in 1991.

Khaleda Zia appreciated the family planning officials and employees for their efforts to check the growth rate but simultaneously urged them to intensify their initiatives to bring down the growth rate further.

"There is no room for self-complacency with this level of success," she said.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, State Minister of the same ministry Mizanur Rahman Sinha and Director General of Family Welfare Department Abdul Mannan, among others, spoke at the rally chaired by Health and Family Welfare Secretary A K M Zafarullah Khan.

The prime minister identified the previous Awami League government's policy to stall several family planning programmes which have caused a major setback for the campaign.

"They had stopped the door to door motivation distribution of contraceptives causing severe stalemate for the family planning campaign," she said.

Khaleda said as part of her government's commitments, the jobs of all levels of family planning officials and employees have already been transferred from development sector to revenue head.

This action, she said, removed the uncertainty from the minds of 44,000 family planning officials and employees about their service.