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The ‘infertile’ were sterilized
In a startling revelation, the state health department has accepted that officials, in a bid to achieve family planning (FP) target, performed sterilisation of males and females who had passed their fertility period.
In a startling revelation, the state health department has accepted that officials, in a bid to achieve family planning (FP) target, performed sterilisation of males and females who had passed their fertility period.
It has now issued directives to doctors and staff concerned to ensure that only eligible couples are provided contraceptives or other population control methods. It has said that strict action would be taken against erring staff in case of any anomaly.
The state government (through letter number 2754-71) has directed all district project officers (DPOs) to ensure that there is no sterilisation of widows, widowers and aged people. Also, they should not be given contraceptives.
"There had been gross irregularities in tubectomies and vasectomies. It was, in many cases, noticed that non-fertile males and females (people who were over 50 years of age) were operated upon for sterilisation and given contraceptives," said Dr Usha Narayan, manager National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and former officiating director general (DG) Family Planning.
She said sterilising ineligible people would not help in controlling population.
"There have been a formidable number of incidents wherein 55-year-old widows or 65-year-old males were not only sterilised but were provided contraceptives. This all was done just to achieve the annual target. What is its use?" asked health officials.
Sources in health department told Hindustan Times that "during verification of people who underwent tubectomy and vasectomy surgeries it was discovered that officials concerned didn't fill details of beneficiaries clearly on hospital records in a bid to hide the irregularity. In several cases the names of beneficiaries were mentioned as care of (c/o) and when teams went to these addresses there was no such person present. In one case it was discovered that a 70-year-old man was given 1000 nirodhs."
A health department official said there have been such cases in the past too.
