Maharashtra's sex ratio dips to 5-year low of 906 in 2021; Buldhana fares worst with just 862

PUNE: The sex ratio in Maharashtra dropped to a five-year low of 906 girls for every 1,000 boys in 2021, with Buldhana district faring the worst (862) and Gadchiroli recording the highest ratio of 962. In Pune district, the figure stood at 911 last year, down 13 points from 924 in 2020.
As per the Maharashtra health department and Civil Registration System (CRS), the state started seeing a decline in the sex ratio from 2019 (the Covid-19 pandemic years).
"During this period, illegal sex determination and female feticide went unchecked as the entire administration and state machinery were busy in controlling the spread of Covid-19," an activist said, adding that illegal sex determination centres as well as female feticide cases increased during this period.
Out of the 35 districts in the state, 14 have recorded a sex ratio of less than 900 girls per 1,000 boys in 2021, the state health department and CRS data showed. These districts included Nashik, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Satara, Kolhapur, Ahmedabad, Jalna, Osmanabad, Beed, Washim and Buldhana.
State director of health Dr Nitin Ambadekar, however, claimed that even during the pandemic, surveillance related to the Pre-conception & Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act and its implementation went on uninterrupted. "We did monitor sonography centres for any illegal sex determination practices and also for female feticide. We took regular action against such centres in case of any suspicious activity. The skewed sex ratio is a social issue and needs to be analyzed that way."
The PCPNDT Act 1994 provides for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception, and regulation of prenatal diagnostic techniques, including ultrasound, for the purposes of detecting genetic or metabolic or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders. The Act aims to prevent the misuse of prenatal diagnostic techniques for sex determination leading to female feticide.
Varsha Deshpande, member of the National Inspection and Monitoring Committee for implementing the PCPNDT Act, said, “Suspension of certain provisions of the PCPNDT Act for a few months at the start of the pandemic gave a free run to people involved in illegal sex determination. When we investigated matters after the pandemic, we found that 111 cases were registered during the period and all those involved were acquitted.” Deshpande said, “Maharashtra loses at least 53,000 girls every year due to female feticide, but everyone only talks about the ratio and not the absolute numbers. The entire ‘Beti Bachao’ drive was compromised during the pandemic.”