Orissa strives to lower gap in child sex ratio

Despite numerous plans and programmes, the Orissa government has not been able to contain the increasing gap in the child sex ratio. Although the economic conditions of people across all the sections have increased manifold and the rate of literacy in the state has jumped up significantly, the state government is at wit’s end on how to bridge the gap.

According to a 2001 census, Orissa had 953 girl against every 1,000 male children. This has come down to 934 in 2011 census.

The situation is quite alarming in Cuttack, which is considered one of the most developed districts in the state. As per the 2011 census, it has only 913 girl children against 1,000 males. The rural part of the district paints a mall dangerous picture where only 913 girl children against 1,000 males.

In 2001 census, Cuttack registered 66 per cent literacy while it increased to 77.64 in 2011. The district administration fails to understand why there is a steady decline in the girl child birth rate despite the literacy rate going up.

Jajpur is another district where the girl child birth rate has fallen from 934 in 2001 to 921 in 2011.

Not only in Cuttack and Jajpur, other districts such as Puri, Kendrapada, Ganjam have also recorded a fall in girl child birth rate.

The literacy rate of Orissa which was 63.45 per cent in 2001, saw rising up to 73.45 per cent in 2011.

Worried over the rising gap in the female and male child ratio despite several socio-economic interventions by his government, Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik has asked all the district collectors to adopt best practices followed by other states to prevent the rising sex ratio gap.

In the two-day collectors’ conference which ended here on Saturday, the chief minister also stressed on the district administration using all its mechanism to convince couples not to go gender selection of foetus and subsequent abortion.

The chief minister has also asked collectors to seriously execute various schemes for girl children including free distribution of bicycles, uniforms and books. He has also directed the collectors to take stringent actions against nursing homes and clinics which are indulging in gender identification of foetus and elimination of female foetus without caring for the restrictions imposed under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994.

The PCPNDT Act bans use of sex selection techniques before or after conception and prevents the misuse of prenatal diagnostic technique for sex selective abortion.