Haryana contests Niti Aayog report on drop in its sex ratio ›

How can the surveybased report be compared with the actual registered birth report? We will provide the govt think tank with the correct data. ANIL VIJ, Haryana health minister

CHANDIGARH: Haryana, which had claimed a significant improvement in its sex ratio since the launch of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Pathao’ campaign in 2015, has contested the recent report of the Niti Aayog which stated that Haryana had shown a decline in the ratio.

A latest report by the government think tank mentioned that Haryana’s sex ratio at birth had decreased from 866 females per 1,000 from the base year (20122014) to 831 in reference year (2013-2015), thus registering a drop of 35 points.

Rebutting the decline, state health minister Anil Vij said the Aayog has relied upon sex ratio at birth (SRB) at number of births generated through sample registration survey (SRS) done by Registrar General of India (RGI), which is not on basis of actual births which took place in that particular year in the state.

He said his department would also write to the Aayog in the context with correct data.

The RGI collects 100% data on actual birth registration (known as civil registration system) through chief registrars appointed under the Birth and Death Registration Act from state health departments and same data is used to calculate monthly or yearly sex ratio at birth or SRB.

“Haryana is following the CRS system for the past more than 10 years and the same is regularly sent to RGI,” health ministers said.

“How can the survey-based report be compared with the actual registered birth report,” he questioned. Presently, around 5 lakhs births are registered in a year at more than 600 birth registrations units in the state.

Also, the very procedure to hold a survey to cull out average from three years — 2012- 2014 and 2013-2015 — does not reflect the ground reality. “Haryana improved from 900 in 2016 to 914 in 2017. In 2015, it was 876,” he said.

According to him, the health department had registered more than 500 FIRS under PNDT/MTP Act in the last more than two years.

On the issue of rate of mortality of children below five years, the health minister said that the same too had dropped from 42 per 1,000 in 2015 to 37 in 2016.