The PCPNDT "success" story
What a brilliant piece of legislation it was. Under this act with an objective to rectify the decreasing sex ratio unbridled powers were given to appropriate authorities, targets given to them for number of raids, sealing of ultrasound machines and arresting Doctors. This resulted in 306 arrests of doctors, 1573 ultrasound machines being sealed, 2152 court cases filed and 100 doctors’ registration in State medical Councils suspended following conviction nationwide. This was the report card as presented by Sh J P Nadda in Rajya Sabha in 2016 during question hour.
What it did not mention was that the sex ratio in 0-6 years as per census data had fallen from 927 in 2001 to 914 in 2011 despite 20 yrs of raids, arrests and sealing of ultrasound machines. There is no data on the number of women who must have lost their lives due to childbirth purely because of ultrasound technology being restricted. Women from outside the district are asked by select appropriate authorities to first get an affidavit made regarding residence proof despite showing their valid identity proofs. Random arbitrary and quixotic rules have been implemented in different districts of same state by appropriate authorities eager to please their political masters. Incidents of corruptions, blackmail and victimization have been innumerable but because of the stranglehold the PCPNDT Act gives to authorities, no one dares to raise their voice.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/…/sex-ratio-at-birt…/545408.html
Now with this news of fall in sex ratio at birth in Gujrat , Haryana and 17 other states it is now clear that the path chosen by our lawmakers and their minions to correct gender imbalance has miserably failed. Earlier also Haryana had fudged its figures claiming massive reversal of sex ratio only to be snubbed by findings of an audit report which revealed the factual position of no such change. A social ill cannot be corrected by a bureaucratic pill. Without removing the reasons for the gender bias targeting doctors for the gender imbalance will not improve the situation. Do we however have the courage to accept we were wrong.
As long as we continue to give lip service to the real causes of gender imbalance situation cannot change. But for political reasons we cannot challenge the social norms dictated by the “khaps” and the “samaj” nor do we have the strength to use existing laws to protect the women. With Ministers still blaming the dresses women wear or the time of the day or night they were out with friends or at work for the incidents of molestation, rape and murder the mental thought in the minds of our leaders is evident. Our politicians, law & order machinery and the judiciary all have to course correct if we wish to improve the sex ratio.
I have earlier also said it and will say it again. You wish to reverse the gender imbalance take the following steps for its guaranteed reversal.
1) Scrap PCPNDT Act
2) Amend Hindu Succession Act to exclude all male Class I heirs from being entitled to inherit property. If property has to be retained in family and there is no female member alive then it may even be permitted to go to an adopted daughter. Males should be allowed to register self acquired property but not inherited property.
3) Amend other appropriate acts to bring similar change in inheritance laws among those not governed by Hindu Succession Act.
Dr Neeraj Nagpal
Convenor,Medicos Legal Action Group, Managing Director MLAG Indemnity,
Ex President IMA Chandigarh
Director Hope Gastrointestinal Diagnostic Clinic,
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