66 cases so far, PNDT Act still stuck in womb

After all, who cares for the missing girl child? Till December last year, a mere 66 cases have been slapped against doctors...

After all, who cares for the missing girl child? Till December last year, a mere 66 cases have been slapped against doctors across the country for indulging in sex selection and flouting the Pre-Conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act.

Punjab tops the list (21 doctors) followed by Haryana (18 doctors), Maharashtra (13 doctors), Delhi (four doctors), Bihar (three doctors) Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh ( two doctors each) and Tamil Nadu and Karnataka (one each).

However, N S Bedi, Under Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, told The Indian Express that 416 cases were going on in various courts/police for violations of the PNDT Act. Most of the cases are for non-registration of clinic/centre.

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Nearly 159 ultrasound machines have been seized in this regard. Altogether, there are 33, 444 registered institutes having ulltrasound and image scanners.

While the overall child sex ratio dipped from 945 girls per 100 boys in 1991 to 927 girls per 1000 boys in 2001, Punjab and Haryana had shown the maximum decline.

In Punjab, 875 girls per 1000 boys in 1991 came down to 798 girls per 1000 boys in 2001 while in Haryana, 879 girls per 1000 boys in 1991 came down to 819 girls per 1000 boys in 2001.

According to Bedi, 42 cases have been registered against those who gave advertisements about facilities of pre conception/pre natal sex selection.