After eight-year low, Haryana aims to lift sex ratio to 920

Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Sudhir Rajpal has ordered the creation of a dedicated MIS portal to track all court cases under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act. Rajpal said the state home secretary will be requested through a letter to allow PNDT cases to be taken up in POCSO courts for faster disposal. To address the low conviction rate, the department is considering appointing specialised lawyers at the state headquarters to pursue cases more effectively.

At a meeting of the State Task Force chaired by Rajpal on Tuesday, it was decided that call detail records (CDRs) of individuals involved in illegal medical terminations and sex-determination activities would be submitted in court as evidence. Civil Surgeons across districts have been directed to prepare detailed lists of clinics, nursing homes, and hospitals run by BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery), GAMS (Graduate of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery), and BHMS (Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery) practitioners, identifying which have registered gynaecologists and which are authorised MTP centres. In a video conference with Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police from six low-performing districts—Sirsa, Sonipat, Yamunanagar, Cha­rkhi Dadri, Nuh, and Jhajjar—Rajpal urged proactive collaboration with civil surgeons to improve the sex ratio. He instructed officials to intensify monitoring and ensure mandatory registration of all newborns, particularly in urban slum clusters.

Taking a stern view of negligence, Rajpal ordered the suspension of the Medical Officer of PHC Jattanwali in Sirsa and the Senior Medical Officer of Halalpur in Sonipat after declines in sex-ratio figures were reported. He also called for stronger efforts to enhance Haryana’s overall performance on sex-ratio indicators.

The state has long been at the centre of India’s gender imbalance. In the 2011 Census, twelve districts were identified among the country’s 100 most gender-critical. The launch of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao programme in 2015 initially brought significant improvement, with the sex ratio at birth rising from 871 in 2014 to 914 in 2017 and peaking at 923 in 2019. However, the numbers have since fluctuated, slipping to 922 in 2020, 914 in 2021, 917 in 2022, 916 in 2023, and 910 in 2024.