Officials raid illegal sex determination and abortion centres. (Photo| EPS)
BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Government will reward people who share information on illegal sex determination clinics and such practices in the State. Health and Family Welfare director Dr Bijay Panigrahi said a reward of Rs 25,000 will be given to the informant who shares details about sex determination test or unregistered ultrasound units.
The scheme ‘Informer’s Incentive Scheme’ will be enforced for effective implementation of the PC & PNDT Act, 1994. The amount will be paid to the informer in three installments. The first installment of Rs 10,000 will be paid after verifying the correctness of the information, while another Rs 10,000 will be given in the second installment after filing of prosecution report. The remaining amount of Rs 5,000 will be released if the accused is convicted.
The identity of the informant will be kept confidential, the director said. The move from the Health and Family Welfare department comes in view of the growing incidents of sex determination cases in the State. Police had busted a sex determination racket in Ankuli area of Berhampur in May and had detected its link with Hyderabad during investigation. As many as 12 persons had been arrested in this connection.
Police had also sealed Alfa Healthcare Clinic in Cuttack in January this year for allegedly carrying out sex determination tests. Health officials said the State has 894 female children for every 1,000 males. Such gap in the child sex ratio is alarming for which sex determination act needs to be dealt sternly, they said.
