BELAGAVI: Admitting that the prevailing laws to prevent female foeticide in Karnataka are not being implemented effectively, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has said that a new policy will be framed in the state soon to prevent female foeticide.
He was replying to the Calling Attention in the Council on Tuesday moved by MLCs of both the Ruling and Opposition parties on the increasing number of female foeticide cases in Karnataka.
Expressing anguish and concern over recent cases of female feticide, including the one reported in the Mandya district, Dinesh outlined the proposed aspects that would be incorporated into the new policy.
The minister said that since the cooperation of the police is essential, the State Government will frame a State level Task Force Committee where an ASP or a DySP-rank police officer would be made part of it. “Since it is a punishable offence, the involvement of police is required to collect evidence against the culprits, mainly by catching them red-handed.
In order to do that, the decoy operation should be planned, which is best possible only with the involvement of the police,” he elaborated.
The Minister claimed that a similar law is already constituted in Tamil Nadu where the police and the health department are also involved. Admitting that female foeticide is treated not just as a crime but a social problem, he said that awareness among people on saving the girl child should be taken up extensively, even at the school level itself.
“It is so unfortunate that society treats girls as a burden, because of it, several couples decide to get the girl child terminated despite the fact that the sex determination test is banned. Therefore, it is vital to educate the population on the importance of a girl child to maintain male-female gender ratio in society,” Dinesh added.