Haryana CM Khattar seeks help from neighbouring states to reduce female foeticide

Chandigarh: Aiming to achieve a target of 950 plus sex ratio at birth (SRB) by the end of the year, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has sought “coordinated efforts” among neighbouring states to check female foeticide. He wrote letters on Friday to the chief ministers of Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and has also attached a brief note and a presentation for their perusal. “I am confident that concerted and coordinated efforts of state governments will help in saving thousands of girls,” he wrote. “Deep desire for male child in the society coupled with complex nexus of unscrupulous elements involved in sex determination and female feticide resulted in skewed sex ratio in the state,” the letter said. He explained the strategy adopted in Haryana to check the female foeticide. [caption id=“attachment_2744492” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. PTI[/caption] Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act were rigorously implemented in Harayana with the coordinated efforts of all wings of government – police, health, food and drugs administration, prosecution, ably led by deputy commissioners in all the districts, the CM said. He also urged them to direct their authorities concerned to take strong steps in coordination with authorities in Haryana, which would surely lead to improved sex ratio in all the neighbouring states. Khattar said Haryana had lowest child sex ratio in the country as per census 2011, but now that has crossed the benchmark SRB of 900 for the first time in December 2015. This, he said, could be made possible “due to strenuous efforts put in by all deputy commissioners since the launch of ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Panipat on January 22, 2015.” He further said in his communication that a massive crackdown was launched to take action against elements selling sex selection drugs and MTP kits, which were freely available earlier.