Belagavi: Accepting that acts of female foeticide has not stopped in Karnataka, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the State Government was taking strict measures to prevent it.

He said the Government was appointing separate Nodal Officers in all districts and tightening measures to prevent foeticide, which he called a “social evil.” He also assured that the Government would consider strengthening legislation to control such activities.

Responding to a question by BJP  MLC C.T. Ravi in the Legislative Council, he said, “Female foeticide has certainly not stopped. If you look at the sex ratio, there is a lot of difference. I accept that this is happening.”

“Foeticide is not happening under pressure; voluntarily, it is happening, for not wanting a girl child. These things are happening based on sex determination of foetus at some hospitals. Sex determination is illegal, but with the advancement in technology, portable ultrasound machines have been developed, which can be easily carried anywhere and scans and tests can be done. This needs to be controlled. We will bring it to the notice of the Central Government,” he said.

In some districts and in a few hospitals, a higher number of male child births are happening. It is found with the help of intelligence input, the Minister said. “Information is being gathered about the taluks in which the male-female ratio is worsening, what is happening in which hospital and appropriate action is being taken to crack down on such a network after proper evaluation,” he said.

Decoy operations have been done at seven places in last two years, to identify those involved in illegal activities linked to female foeticide and actions have been taken against officials and hospitals involved, he said. The Government will consider strengthening legislation and making it stricter to control this.

The Minister also said that measures are being taken for effective implementation of The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC & PNDT) Act and awareness is being created against identification of female foetuses.