Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 26: The Government has decided to add teeth to the existing Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Sex Selection/Determination Act (PC&PNDT) by making certain amendments in the existing rules to incorporate the provision of three years imprisonment and fine up to Rs 50, 000 on the person found running unregistered clinics.
This decision was endorsed by PC & PNDT Act State Advisory Board in a meeting held under the chairmanship of Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma.
The meeting also endorsed the recommendation to introduce medical audit of the Ultrasound clinics- centres to ensure proper monitoring of such clinics under the PC&PNDT Act.
The medical audit of clinics would include scrutiny of records in respect of all pre-conception or pregnancy related procedures to curb the rampant misuse of medical technology for sex-selection. Accordingly the appropriate authorities at Divisional and District levels under PC&PNDT Act will conduct regular medical audit of the records and the department will devise a mechanism and issue necessary orders for implementation of medical audit of all US Clinics/Centres.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister, who is also the Ex-Officio Chairman of the State Supervisory Board, called for seeking the support of civil society to deal with the grave issue. He said that efforts of the Government alone are not adequate to deal with this sensitive issue and people from all the sections of the society have to play their part to make the people aware about the consequences of such evil practice.
Mr. Sham Lal stressed to start a massive campaign by involving religious priests for educating the people in mosques, temples, gurdawaras and churchs, during the sermons for creating awareness against the female feticide, domestic violence and other crimes against the woman. For this purpose, the Minister asked both the Divisional Commissioners to approach the religious leaders of the State in this regard.
The Minister also stressed for wide-publicity of the programmes being implemented in the State under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) through various means, including Information Department/Song and Drama Division, PIB, Cultural Academy and local theatre groups, for which the funds are available.
MLA Bimla Luthra also shared her views on the subject and suggested for making the regulatory mechanism more effective to curb this evil.
Mission Director NRHM, Jammu, Dr, Yashpal Sharma gave a brief Power Point Presentation highlighting the functioning of the State Supervisory Board, trends of the sex ratio in the State and various initiatives underway under NRHM.
Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Pardeep Gupta, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Dr. Asgar Hussain Samoon, Secretary Health and Medical Education M. K. Devidi, Director Health Services Jammu, Dr. Madhu Khullar, Director ISM Dr. Abdul Kabir Dar, Special Secretary Law Farhat Tabasum, Nodal Officer PC&PNDT Dr. Nighat Yasmeen, senior officers of Law, Health, Social Welfare Departments, heads of various units of Health, Medical Education Departments and senior Doctors and Radiologists attended the meeting.
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