Sex ratio falls, teams set up to curb gender testing

MUMBAI: The sex ratio in the

state

has fallen from 930 girls per 1,000 boys in 2015 to 899 girls per 1,000 boys in 2016, state health minister Deepak Sawant said in a written reply before the assembly.

The sex ratio has reduced by 49 in Washim district, 46 in Pune and 34 in Osmanabad, he said. The figures are from a state health department report this year. Mumbai, on the other hand, has shown an upward trend in 2016. The city’s ratio jumped three points from 933 in 2015 to 936.

The main cause for the state’s abysmal performance, Sawant admitted was the low status of women in the state. Regarding the state’s action on the issue, Sawant said that it had appointed 608 officials for the implementation of the Pre-Conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques [Prohibition of Sex Selection] (PCPNDT) Act.

It has also set up a vigilance squad under collectors for the implementation of the Act. The officials will be conducting random checks on sonography centres and taking action against those who violate the law. Sabu George, an activist and researcher who has studied female foeticide across states, said the situation was alarming. “If the state doesn’t wake up now and start implementing the PCPNDT Act with all seriousness, there will be far fewer girls born,” he said.

He added the state’s handling of the Sangli incident, where a foeticide racket run by a homeopath was unearthed, has spoken volumes about the state’s commitment to end the menace.