Aiming to take up the fight against declining sex ratio on a war-footing, the Women and Child Development Ministry has asked all States to submit an action report to tackle the problem.
As per Census 2011 data, the number of girls for every 1000 boys between the age group of 0-6 yrs has shown an all-time low of 918. “The States of Haryana and Punjab have already given their action plan to tackle the declining CSR on a war footing. We need all the other States to exercise similar urgency,” said WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi.
In the second consultative committee meeting focusing on the falling sex ratio, the WCD Minister said that there was an urgent need to stub the problem. “Since 1961, even our child sex ratio (0-6 years-girls/ 1,000 boys) has been on a constant decline. More recent data shows a more pronounced fall with 927 per 1,000 boys in 2001 to 918 in 2011. The problem has already got out of hand,” said Maneka.
“Economic factors, especially dowry are among the major reasons of the declining CSR apart from other factors like rising level of violence in the society,” she said.
Maneka said that the Government has introduced the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Programme to address the issue of decline in CSR through a mass media campaign across the country and focused intervention and multi-sectoral action in 100 gender critical Districts.
“The district collectors and deputy commissioners will lead and coordinate action of all departments for BBBP at the District level. The Government has allocated `100 Crore in this year for the scheme,” said Maneka. “We want the woman MPs to create an environment for empowerment of women, especially women Sarpanches,” she said.
The WCD Ministry has already undertaken three workshops of district collectors in Chandigarh, Guwahati and Delhi to sensitise them on the issue. The members suggested that since dowry is one of the major reasons, Anti-Dowry Act should be made more stringent. They also suggested emphasis on the education of the girls for their empowerment.