Haryana tops list of foetus test offenders

A total of 449 convictions have been secured till March this year from across the country, for violations under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 — enacted to stop female foeticide — according to a report released by the Union health ministry.

Among the states, Haryana is worse as far as revealing the sex of foetus is concerned, with 158 out of 387 cases filed against violators across the country under this category being from this state alone.

Rajasthan comes second with 112 cases registered against the defaulters.

The report is based on the quarterly progress report received from states and Union Territories. It shows a jump of 15% from previous year’s 388 overall convictions in the corresponding period.

The Act prohibits sex-selection or disclosure of the sex of the foetus “by words, signs or in any other manner”, which is a punishable offence.

It also prohibits the sale of “any ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or any other equipment capable of detecting the sex of foetus” to persons, laboratories, clinics, etc. not registered under the Act.

It was enacted for prevention of misuse of pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic techniques for sex determination.

According to experts, about 5% of all ultrasound scans are pregnancy-related.

Female infanticide is a worldwide phenomenon, with an estimated 1.5 million female foetuses getting aborted each year.

According to a recent report from the Niti Aayog, India’s sex ratio at birth, which is the number of girls born for every 1000 boys, dropped from 906 in 20122014 to 900 in 2013-2015, and aborting female foetuses is a major contributing factor for the huge disparity.

“The report is based on inspections conducted on a regular basis by individual states and UTs. The disclosure of figures publicly is to comply with a central information commission order,” said a health ministry official, requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to media.

“This is the report from the first quarter and we will keep updating as we receive data from the states,” the official added.

Under the National Health Mission (NHM), the government provides financial support to states for operating PNDT cells and strengthening structures for the implementation of the Act.

NEW DELHI: