It seems that the Uttar Pradesh government wants to include common public in catching the law-breakers. Few days back, it rolled out a decision that if a person clicked a UP transport bus driver using mobile phone while driving and sent the image to the authorities on WhatsApp, that person would be awarded cash prize and the concerned driver would have to pay the penalty.
Now, it has come up with a scheme to catch the hospitals or diagnostic centres that are providing service of prenatal sex determination. As per the law, prenatal sex determination is illegal in India but some hospitals and diagnostic centres are carrying it out in order to earn a huge amount of money.
The child sex ratio in UP is constantly dropping and Yogi Adityanath government has taken it seriously. For the same purpose, it has decided to start “decoy operation”, something which is already in place in Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab.
The child sex ratio of UP in 2001 census was 916 females per 1,000 boy but in 2011, it dropped to 902 per 1,000 boys. Prashant Dwivedi, principal secretary (health) of UP, sent a letter to all the DMs on 23rd June in which he wrote,
“The reducing child sex ratio in the state is a serious issue of worry. There is an urgent need to crack down on illegal activity of female foeticide and illegal sex determination.”
He has also asked them to start the operation from July 1. For this operation, they will be getting help from National Health Mission.
The total award for one decoy operation is Rs. 2 lakh, out of which Rs. 60,000 is for the “informer” who will provide information to the government about the illegal business being carried out in any hospital or diagnostic centre. The pregnant woman who will act as a decoy will be paid Rs. 1 lakh while the person who will accompany the pregnant lady will be given Rs. 40,000. The accompanying person can be a family member of the pregnant lady. The prize money won’t be paid in one time but in three installments. First installment will be made when the operation is carried out successfully, second while appearing in the court as a witness and third when the culprit gets punishment.
Image For Representational Purpose Only
Undoubtedly, it is a dangerous operation but the UP government has stated that it will keep the identity of the informer and the pregnant woman as secret and they will be addressed as codes in various documents. On the other hand, if the informer or the pregnant lady tries to take benefit of the operation illegally, their names will be added in the “blacklist.” Committees have been formed at district and state levels where informers and pregnant women can register themselves.
Will this scheme help the UP government in tackling the issue of child sex ratio?