By IANS
New Delhi : Worried over the decline in the child sex ratio, the Delhi government Monday announced a substantial enhancement to Rs.100,000 as incentive for every girl child born after Jan 1, 2008.
The amount will be given to the girl after she is 18, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said Tuesday stressing that the scheme would help improve the dismal sex ratio of the city. The earlier amount was Rs.18,000.
Dikshit, who held a cabinet meeting on the issue, said that a girl child “born after 1.1.08 will get financial benefit of Rs.100,000 instead of Rs.18,000 as is the norm now.”
The chief minister confessed that her “government is concerned about the decline in the child sex ratio and has hence decided to hike incentive on birth of a girl child apart from increasing stage wise financial benefits to encourage the education of girls.”
Dikshit said this was a “major decision, which would help in stage-wise empowerment of the girl child”.
The skewed sex ratio in the capital has shown slight improvement from 822 female births against 1,000 male ones in 2005 to 831:1,000 in 2006.
However, the capital is far behind the national male-female ratio of 927 female per 1,000 males born in the country.
Dikshit said a deposit of Rs.5,000 in the name of each girl child born in government hospitals (institutional delivery) has been increased to Rs.6,000, whereas Rs.4,000 would be granted on birth of a girl child at home.
Earlier, a girl child born at home was not eligible to such financial benefits.
She said an amount of Rs.5,000 each on admission of a girl child to Classes 1, 6, 9, 10 and 12 or equivalent would be released and redeemed together to the girl child on attaining the age of 18 years.
The chief minister also said that her government has decided to set up Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
The commission will have a chairperson and six members and examine and review safeguards provided under law for the protection of child rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation.
It will also inquire into violation of child rights and recommend initiation of proceedings in such cases, look into the matters relating to children in need of special care and protection and also spread child rights literacy and inspect any juvenile custodial home.