You May Get Rewarded On Info About Female Foeticide In Haryana: Details

The Haryana government has decided to reward Rs 1 lakh to those who can provide accurate information on female foeticide cases. The State's Health Department said that the informant's identity would be kept confidential. Haryana has been seeing a consistently low Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) with only 916 females per 1,000 males registered in 2023. The SRB has been continuously fluctuating over the last few years-- 923 in 2019, 922 in 2020, 914 in 2021, and 917 in 2022. 

Out of the 22 districts in Haryana, nine have performed the worst in 2023-- Rohtak, Rewari, Mahendergar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Sonipat, Yamuna Nagar, Jind, and Chakhri Dadri-- with a severe drop over the years. To curb this, the government has decided to reward anyone who provides information about female foeticide cases.

Efforts To Tackle Female Foeticide

Haryana's Palwal district recorded the highest sex ratio at birth of 946 females per 1,000 males. Meanwhile, Rohtak recorded the lowest SRB in the State, with just 883 SRB as compared to 936 in 2022. Ambala had recorded the highest SRB in 2022, with 934 females per thousand males. However, in 2023, the district recorded a slip of SRB of 919. In some other districts like Karnal, Hisar, and Bhiwani, the SRB has increased in 2023, as compared to the last year.

As per official data, as many as 85 FIRs were registered in 2023 against 105 FIRs lodged in 2022 under the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) and Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Acts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ programme in 2015, after which the specially constituted teams of the health department have so far registered 1,174 FIRs, including 365 FIRs lodged after inter-state raids. 

According to the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (1994), registered centre operators and doctors involved in pre-conception sex selection and pre-natal sex determination would be punished with imprisonment of three years and a fine of Rs 10,000 for the first time. For repeat offences, there is a provision of five years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000.

For the husband/family member or any person who instigates gender selection, the punishment for the first offence is imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs 50,000. For subsequent offences, the punishment is jail for up to five years with a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh. Despite several efforts by the government, ASHA workers, and Anganwadi workers, the 'Save The Girl Child' Campaign shows no sign of hope in Haryana as the SRB continues to show lacklustre results.