Sex ratio crossed 900 mark in 2016: CM

Chandigarh, January 5

Haryana has, for the first time since 2001, achieved the sex ratio of 900 girls as against 1,000 boys in 2016, as per the CRS system of registration of births in the state. This is in contrast to the statistics of 2011 when the state had the worst sex ratio of 834:1,000 among all states.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the state had taken a leap forward by achieving marked improvement in the sex ratio at birth (SRB). According to the statistics available for the sex ratio, he said out of 5,25,278 children born in the state from January to December 2016, there were 2,76,414 boys and 2,48,864 girls and the sex ratio at birth touched the mark of 900.

He said none of the districts was below 850 mark and 12 districts in the state had recorded sex ratio of 900 or more in 2016. As many as 15 districts had SRB of more than 900 during December 2016. Sirsa district with a ratio of 935 girls for 1,000 boys tops the list followed by Panchkula with 923 and Fatehabad with 918. Mahendragarh, Rewari, Sonepat and Jhajjar districts having child sex ratio below 800 mark, as per 2011 census, have shown marked improvement and now none of these has SRB below 850.

As many as 19 districts have shown marked increase in the SRB since the launch of the Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao programme in the state. The SRB of Rewari, Rohtak and Jind districts increased by more than 40 points from 2015 to 2016 and 16 districts had an increase of 20 or 20 plus points. Sirsa consistently topped the districts in the SRB during 2015 as well as 2016 with the SRB of 915 and 935, respectively.

About 400 FIRs were registered under the PNDT Act after successful raids, including 75 across the border in adjoining states. He said the state had lodged 75 cross-border FIRs, including 17 in Delhi, 15 in Punjab, 37 in UP and 6 in Rajasthan. — TNS