The agriculturists will be able to cultivate these saplings in their farms, and 20 years hence, the wood from these trees will help pay for the girl's education or marriage, the authorities reason
To give more muscle to the fight against gender discrimination and female foeticide, the state forest department is planning to gift teak saplings to farmers after a girl child is born to them. The agriculturists will be able to cultivate these saplings in their farms, and 20 years hence, the wood from these trees will help pay for the girl's education or marriage, the authorities reason. "We are planning a pilot project in the four districts of Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Bhandara and Gondia, where five sag saplings will be given to each family free of cost after a daughter is born in their houses.
These trees can be planted in their farms and 20 years later, this wood can be sold," finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who is also the state's forest minister, told dna. He added that presently, each tree costed around Rs45,000, and the value of these five trees was around Rs2.25 lakh at present, but would go up in future due to the rising demand for the premium-quality wood. This commercial harvest of the trees will help raise money for the education or marriage of these girls. "This scheme is meant to correct the falling sex ratio... the families will also get a certificate with my signature listing the importance of the girl child and calling for her to be educated, and the possibility of monetising these trees for meeting the expenses of her education and marriage," said Mungantiwar, adding that the measure would also aid afforestation and promote cultivation of teak wood.
He stated that depending on the response and impact, the pilot project could be expanded to the rest of the state and may also include two more saplings—one each of mango and jackfruit to help generate an additional income for families with girl children. The four districts in the backward Vidarbha region are being considered for the launch, because of the high forest cover in the area. Mungantiwar said they would set up a monitoring system for the scheme which included mapping the trees on digital maps and a computerised repository of names and number of trees given.
Skewed sex ratio
Preference for a male child, practice of dowry, the inferior status accorded to women, and discrimination between the two sexes have led to female foeticide, and consequently, an unhealthy sex ratio.
Maharashtra's general sex ratio declined from 934 in 1991 to 922 in 2001, but marginally rose to 925 in 2011. In contrast, India's sex ratio has increased from 927 in 1991 to 933 in 2011 and 940 in 2011.
The state's child sex ratio (ratio of girls to boys between zero and six years) has fallen from 946 in 1991 to 913 in 2001 and 883 in 2011 as against 914 in 2011, 927 in 2001 and 946 in 1991 for India.
Shockingly, the health department's estimates, considering the average expected sex ratio of 952 and the child sex ratio of 883 in the 2011 census, indicate that Maharashtra may have seen around 4,68,680 female foeticide cases between 2001 and 2011, including 30,116 in Mumbai.
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