Karnataka govt to set up task force to prevent female foeticides

Along with creating awareness in society, the government also wants to create a fear of the law among people against indulging in such heinous acts, he said.

Belagavi: The Karnataka government is taking measures to prevent female foeticides, including amending the concerned legislation, formulating a new policy, and setting up a state-level task force, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao told the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, December 14.

Along with creating awareness in society, the government also wants to create a fear of the law among people against indulging in such heinous acts, he said.

A CID probe has already been ordered to probe such incidents, Rao said.

Health Department officials have been directed to regularly conduct spot inspections, the Minister said, but acknowledged that ineffective implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act is coming in the way of fully stopping cases of female foeticides and arresting the declining sex ratio in India.

The declining gender ratio indicates female foeticides are happening, he further said. “If you look at civil registration data, last year it was 947 females for 1,000 men; this year it is 929. It has come down.”

He was replying to issues raised by a few MLAs, including Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka, expressing concern over the increasing cases of female foeticide in the state.

Highlighting the need for a joint operation by the health and police departments to prevent female foeticides, Rao said the proposed state-level task force would help in swiftly acting against any illegal activities. In addition, there are plans for setting up sub-division-level monitoring committees, besides deploying an ACP-level officer for proper coordination to deal exclusively with female foeticide cases.

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He said the call center of the health department, which is currently non-functional, would be activated next month. A tender will be called for this, and this would also cater to instances of female foeticides, among other health-related concerns.

Formulation of new policies

The minister said the government is also planning to come out with a policy to prevent female foeticides.

He said amendments to the legislation concerned would be made in consultation with the Health, Home, and Law Departments to make it more effective.

“Nothing will come out of normal inspection or spot visits. Collecting intelligence by involving ASHA and Anganwadi workers and local leaders is important,” the Minister said, adding that the District Health Officers (DHOs) and Family Welfare Officers have been told to conduct decoy operations once every three months in their jurisdictions to identify hospitals involved in female foeticides.

A private hospital in Bengaluru Rural District was sealed, and four of its employees were detained after a female fetus was found inside a dustbin on its premises on Wednesday, December 13.

Earlier this month, the Karnataka Health Department asked district health officers to inspect and seal unauthorized medical facilities and those run by ‘fake doctors’ after police busted a sex determination and female foeticide racket in Karnataka.

Several arrests have been made in connection with the scandal uncovered in Bengaluru, Mandya, and Mysuru districts.