Ultrasound centres not inspected since January 2018

As per the reply, 16 and 18 inspections were done by the state team in 2016 and 2017, respectively, while the last time there was no inspection was in 2009.

Delhi’s health department has not inspected any ultrasound centre between January 2018 and February 2019, to check for violations of the Pre Conception–Pre Natal Diagnostics Technology Act (PC-PNDT), as per the reply to an RTI query.

Representative image (Rajendra Gawankar /Hindustan Times)

As per the reply, 16 and 18 inspections were done by the state team in 2016 and 2017, respectively, while the last time there was no inspection was in 2009.

“There is a shortage of manpower. The office does not have sufficient officers to conduct the inspections,” a senior official with the Delhi government’s health department said.

In comparison, 16 cases under the PC-PNDT Act were registered in neighbouring Gurugram in 2018, which led to 30 arrests and three in 2019, which led to six arrests.

India’s child sex ratio (0-6 years) fell from 927 girls/1,000 boys in 2001 to 919 girls /1,000 boys in 2011, according to the Census data. Delhi’s child sex ratio is below the national average, at 871 girls/1,000 boys.

“We constantly receive tip-offs and information about sex determination clinics and illegal abortion centres from locals, most of who are pharmacists selling abortion pills. We gather information and the resources, and act on it as and when the situation is appropriate,” said Amandeep Chauhan, Gurugram district drug control officer and a member of the PNDT committee.

The PC-PNDT Act was enacted in 1994 to prevent sex-selective abortions. Under the PC-PNDT Act, hospitals, nursing homes, and diagnostic centres are forbidden from using ultrasound to determine and communicate the sex of the unborn child to the parents. Breaking the law can lead up to three years of imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000. For subsequent offences, the prison term may extend to five years and the fine, up to ₹1 lakh.

Action against clinics performing illegal sex determination improved Delhi’s sex ratio from 902 girls/1,000 boys in 2016 to 913 girls/1,000 boys in 2017.

Since then, inspections reached a five-year low, to zero, in 2018. Inspections are done to check for irregularities, such as not filling out ‘Form F’ that records the medical history of pregnant women seeking ultrasounds, or for not registering ultrasound machines, as mandated by the law.

The number of inspections shot up to 19 in 2014, after hovering between one and six since 2009.

“It is good to see that the sex ratio in Delhi is improving, but with the lax implementation of the law, we are unlikely to see any more improvement, if not a decline. And, look at it this way — even if we go by the current sex ratio, still 4% of the 3.5 lakh children are being lost. For every illegal termination, three medical crimes are happening — two ultrasounds, to check the gender and then the abortion. The state authorities have to be active to prevent this,” said Sabu George, an activist who has been working to prevent female foeticide for three decades.

In February, the Delhi government approved a reward scheme, wherein an informer will receive ₹50,000 for a successful raid and pregnant women acting as decoy customers would receive ₹1.5 lakh. However, no raid has taken place so far.