The Hindu : New Delhi News : `PNDT Law Monitoring Day' mooted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 28, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

`PNDT Law Monitoring Day' mooted

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JAN. 27. Various women's groups and non-government organisations working in the area of health will be meeting the Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit, on Saturday to ask her to mark January 29 as the `Pre-Natal Diagnostics Technique, Regulation and Prevention of Misuse (PNDT) Law -- Evaluation and Monitoring Day.'

According to members, the PNDT Act that has been in place for the past 10 years but the malpractice of sex determination has not stopped. And now to mark the first ever `PNDT Law -- Evaluation and Monitoring Day', more than 25 national and State-level NGO representatives and activists would be meeting Chief Minister at her residence to talk about their concern over the adverse sex ratio specially in Delhi.

The meeting also seeks to draw her attention towards the poor implementation of the Act in various States and review the status of the enforcement of the law and suggest a few immediate steps needed to be taken for the proper implementation of the PNDT Act.

Speaking about the memorandum that is to be submitted to the Chief Minister, members said that they would use this opportunity to talk about the worrying sex-ratio and draw attention to the fact that almost all cases registered in the court are pending without any results so far.

"We would also like to highlight the fact that only a single case was filed in 2003-04 which is also pending. Recommendations will also be made, including monthly reports to be made available by the State government on the trends in sex ratio through hospital records and birth registration data to the public, registration of all the clinics providing pre-natal and post-natal diagnostic services in the State, speedy trail, list of all ultrasound machines both mobile and otherwise, immediate meeting with the elected representatives of Delhi to talk about the problem and non-medical person to be given the power of PNDT authority," explained the vice-president of All India Democratic Women's Association, Brinda Karat, part of the team that will meet with the Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, organisations including Jagori, Sama, Deepalaya, Action India, Change Lawyer's Collective and Joint Women's Programme will form part of the delegation that will meet the Chief Minister.

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