The declining sex ratio in Haryana, compared to other states, has always been a matter of concern. Haryana has the most severe shortage of girls compared to boys and ranks at the bottom among all Indian states. Discrimination against female children and a strong preference for sons are well-known issues in Indian society, significantly contributing to the skewed sex ratio. In 2014, the sex ratio in Haryana was 871 girls per 1,000 boys. In response, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ campaign from Panipat to prevent female foeticide and improve the situation.
In a bid to make PM’s dream project successful, necessary steps were taken into consideration during the tenure of the then former Chief Minister Manohar Lal, whose positive results were seen. After this, due to continuous strictness regarding to tackle sex determination and female foeticide and continuous raids and administrative working style in the adjoining Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab, there was a widespread improvement in the sex ratio. For some time now, due to laxity in neighboring states and lack of monitoring and accountability in Haryana, the sex ratio has again deteriorated. Now the situation is such that in terms of sex ratio, we are standing at the same place from where we started 8 years ago. Sex ratio in Haryana has started deteriorating again. After the nationwide campaign ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Panipat in the year 2015, the sex ratio in the state increased to 923 in the year 2019, but after this the sex ratio started declining again, which is now 914 and very worrying.
While reacting to this, Dr RS Punia who holds the portfolio of DG, Health Haryana said that the concerned department has come up with necessary steps in a bid to increase sex ratio in last few years which is crystal clear from the results surfaced so far.
In the year 2014, the number of women per 1000 men in Haryana was 871. As a result of the efforts made then, the figure of women increased to 876 and 900 in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
After this, in 2017 and 2018, the number of women increased to 914 as compared to 1000 men. There was a relative improvement in 2019 and the number increased to 923. After this, it fell by one point and in 2020 the figure came down to 922. Since then, there has been a continuous decrease in the sex ratio. In 2021, the sex ratio fell to 214, then with a slight increase, it increased to 917 in 2022. After this, it witnessed a dip of one point i.e 916 in 2023 and now till April 2024, the figure of female sex ratio is 914. In this regard, the statistics revealed that in the last few years where in 2017 the number of women per 1000 men was 914, then till April 2024 also the figure was 914 . We started here eight years ago and today we are standing at the same place again. Box
Out of 22 districts in Haryana, there are 7 districts where the number of women per thousand men is between 870 to 900 which clearly shows the gravity of the situation. The number of women per 1000 men is the lowest in Rohtak district of Haryana. The number of women here is 870. It is also worth mentioning that in Rohtak, cases of foeticide and honour killing are more than in other districts. In Kaithal district, the number of women compared to men is 872. Some time ago, where Jind was at the top in the state in terms of sex ratio, now the situation there is also the worst. The number of women per 1000 men in Jind is 888 which is very worrisome. The number of women per 1000 men in Panipat is 888. Apart from these, the number of women in Faridabad district is 899 and apart from the above, the number of women in Rewari is 885, while the number of women in Faridabad is 899. Let us tell you that in the last 8 years, the sex ratio has decreased in more than half a dozen districts of Haryana.
On the other hand, it is pertinent to mention that in terms of the number of women per 1000 men, Charkhi Dadri and Fatehabad districts of Haryana occupy the top positions997 and 972 women. Therefore, other districts of the state need to take inspiration from these two districts. Apart from this, the number of women in CM City Karnal is 960, while in Palwal this figure is 949. Notably, Palwal which falls in the Mewat, the most backward region in Haryana in every respect compared to other districts is in a far better position. Apart from this, the number of women per 1000 men in Bhiwani is 946, in Kurukshetra 943, in Yamunanagar 940, and in Sirsa 939. It is clear from the above figures that these districts are in a much better and pleasant condition in terms of sex ratio than other districts of the state. On the other hand, the number of women per 1000 men in Mewat is 920, in Ambala 930, in Panchkula 925, in Hisar 921 and in Gurugram 907.
In many states adjoining Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan bordering districts, sex determination of foetus is done on a large scale. Through middlemen, pregnant women are secretly taken to unknown places or hospitals and clinics. There, sex determination of the fetus is done by taking 30 to 40 thousand rupees from them. Even more worrying is that girls are being killed in the womb for Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh. Apart from this, MPT kits are also easily available with medicine sellers and these kits costing between Rs 250 and Rs 500 are being sold by the racketeers for Rs 1000 to Rs 1500. Pocket size
