CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said today the sex ratio at birth stood at 950 girls to 1,000 boys for the first time in the history of the state in March this year.
As per district-wise data, the sex ratio at birth during March in Kaithal, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Gurugram, Bhiwani, Jind, Fatehabad, Panchkula, Rewari, Ambala, Mewat, Sonepat and Faridabad was 864, 863, 893, 893, 893, 896, 898, 912, 913, 921, 926, 939 and 947 respectively.
The ratio in Karnal, Hisar, Yamunanagar, Sirsa, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Palwal and Narnaul was 953, 972, 974, 976, 980, 993, 1,217 and 1,279 respectively, as per information provided by the state government. Khattar said that the state had, after the launch of 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' programme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Haryana, accepted the challenge of improving the skewed sex ratio.
It launched a massive campaign in the state by implementing Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 and Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 and running sensitisation-cum awareness campaigns promoting girl child.
An official release quoting Khattar said more than 430 FIRs have been lodged in the state under the PC-PNDT Act and the MTP Act against the offenders during last about two years since the launch of this campaign, who were involved in sex selection and female foeticide.
Out of these, more than 80 FIRs were registered after inter-state raids in the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Punjab. The sex ratio at birth in the state crossed the 900 mark in 2016 for the first time, for which the Prime Minister had lauded the Haryana government for its achievement.