TCN News
New Delhi: The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC&PNDT) Act 1994, remains abysmally implemented even after 20 years even as 13 lakh girls go missing every year, a comprehensive study by Asian Centre for Human Rights has revealed.
The 290-page report, which can be read here, shows that more cases of infanticide under Indian Penal Code were registered than cases under the PC&PNDT Act during 1994-2014. India registered 2,266 cases of infanticide under Section 315 and Section 316 of the Indian Penal Code against 2,021 cases under the PC&PNDT Act during 1994-2014.
The report showed that during 1991 to 2011, a total of 2.5 crore girls i.e. 13 lakh girls per year went missing primarily because of the sex selection. As only 2,021 court and police cases were filed from 1994 to 2014 under the PC&PNDT Act, it implies that on an average only 1 (one) court case was filed approximately for 12,614 cases of sex selection. As conviction was secured only in 206 cases during 1994-2014, it also implies that only 1 (one) conviction was secured per 1,23,755 cases of sex selection.
Worryingly, as many as 17 out of 29 States and six out of seven Union Territories (UTs) had either not registered any case or failed to secure any conviction under the PC&PNDT Act as on date. All these States are covered under the Beti Bachao Beti Padao scheme, the flagship programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrest the falling Child Sex Ratio (CSR) under the age of 0-6 years.
States and UTs which had not secured a single conviction under the PC&PNDT Act since 1994 are Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Andaman & Nicobar Island, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal and Union Territories of Chandigarh. Out of these, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Andaman & Nicobar Island, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry had not registered a single case under the PC&PNDT Act since 1994.
– The report also pointed out that the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) is all set to fall further from 919 as per 2011 census to below 900 as per the current sex ratio at birth being registered by the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report.
The government under reports actual number of missing girls due to sex selection, the organisation added. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in its report, “CHILDREN IN INDIA 2012 – A Statistical Appraisal” based on the children population of 0-6 years of 7.8 crore as per 2001 census and 7.5 crore as per 2011 census concluded that nearly 30 lakh girl children went missing in 2011 compared to 2001. This is wrong on two counts. First, it does not take into account that decadal growth of population from 1.028 billion in 2001 to 1.21 billion in 2011 which would have also resulted in the birth of more girls from 2001 to 2011 in actual terms. Second, census is conducted every 10 years and the CSR covering 0-6 years age group excludes those in 07-10 years age group and indeed does not reflect the actual number of missing girls during the decade.
The top 10 States with cases of foeticide are Madhya Pradesh, followed by Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka and Gujarat. Meanwhile, the top 10 states with skewed CSR as per 2011 census are Haryana, followed by Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, NCT of Delhi, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh
The top 10 states with skewed Sex Ratio at Birth based on the Sample Registration System Statistical Report-2013 are Haryana followed by Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar and Jharkhand.
Major recommendations for the Government of India
Establish a Central nodal agency to combat female foeticide under the joint collaboration of Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare by bringing (i) increased accountability of the Appropriate Authorities of the PC&PNDT Act currently under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, (ii) incentivized schemes for retention of the girl child across all economic class currently under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and (iii) Mandatory birth registration with a concentrated focus on girls currently under Ministry of Home Affairs, under the administrative control of the nodal agency for effective combating of falling CSR;
Ensure effective implementation of the PC&PNDT Act in letter and spirit including through launching of pilot schemes on the implementation of the Act in the districts targeted under the Beti Bachao, Beti Padao scheme;
Reject any further amendments of the PC&PNDT Act placed in March 2016 especially making non-maintenance of records punishable only with fine;
Use of Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) by Registrar General of India should be taken annually instead of the CSR calculated every decade by RGI to identify districts having lowest child sex ratio and undertake effective implementation of the PC&PNDT Act; and
Government of India should either incorporate/strengthen in the Beti Bachao Beti Padao Program or launch a specific scheme to provide financial assistance to families to retain/survival of the girl child irrespective of income of the parents and make the scheme attractive enough for retention/survival of the girl child.