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The Haryana Government Tuesday announced that the state’s sex ratio has improved to 907, as per data collected this year till July 31 – up from 899 during the corresponding period last year. In a unique initiative, the state will also rope in transgender people to celebrate the birth of girls.
The figures were revealed in the weekly meeting of the State Task Force (STF) for improving sex ratio. Sudhir Rajpal, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, chairs the meeting every Tuesday as per directions issued by Arti Singh Rao, Minister for Health and Family Welfare. The meeting focused on intensifying efforts to curb illegal abortions and further improve the state’s sex ratio under the ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ campaign.
In a unique and inclusive initiative, Rajpal directed officials to ensure that members of the transgender community visit homes where girls are born — just as they traditionally do for the birth of boys — and present a certificate of Rs 21,000 invested with the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) under the ‘Aapki Beti Hamari Beti’ scheme.
For this, the Haryana government will also incentivise the transgender community and a minimum amount of Rs 1,100 is proposed to be given to such individuals. “The campaign will be run under the supervision of the concerned Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the district,” he said, adding that the government’s sustained efforts have yielded encouraging results.
Emphasising the need for stringent enforcement against illegal abortions, Rajpal instructed officials to take punitive measures, including revoking the licences of doctors found to be complicit.
“Haryana is implementing reverse tracking of all Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) and abortion cases beyond 12 weeks, particularly where women already have one or more daughters. In July alone, 32 FIRs (First Information Reports) were registered in suspected reverse tracking cases, leading to 32 arrests. Additionally, FIRs are under process in four more cases, and 38 notices have been issued to private hospitals and clinics for suspected violations,” Rajpal said.
The additional chief secretary also issued directions for a statewide crackdown against IVF centres involved in sex-determination tests and illegal abortion practices. It was decided that all implantations through IVF must be registered under Antenatal Care (ANC) for improved surveillance.
He also asked the police department to actively coordinate with Health Department teams for tracking illegal abortion centres and arresting the culprits, while also seeking a report on the progress achieved in the FIRs filed so far by next week.
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