Child sex ratio dips again

NEW DELHI: The child sex ratio for the age group of 0 to 6 years in the country has seen a further drop from 945 girls per thousand boys in 1991 to 921 in 2001, the Rajya  Sabha was informed on Friday.

Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Panabaka Lakshmi said in a written reply during a Question Hour that  one of the reasons for the decline was the rise in the cases of pre-natal determination test of the foetus followed by  female foeticide.

"As per the reports received from the States/Union Territories, 28,422 clinics or units have been registered and 384 cases are filed in various courts as on April 30,  2006," she said.

Defending the Government's efforts to prevent female foeticide, the Minister said one of the problems hampering these efforts were that the service seekers and the service  providers worked in collaboration to defeat or circumvent the provisions of the law and there was no complainant.

Also, the Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition and Sex Selection) Act, 1994 was implemented by the States or Union Territories through the appropriate authorities appointed at the state, district or sub-district level.

Lakshmi said a monitoring and support cell had been established which will work in coordination with the  appropriate authorities to help them in booking the wrong doers indulging in sex determination tests. Delhi has started auditing of medical establishments by an independent committee to find out indirect evidences of violations of the
provisions of the Law.