While Dr Singh urged the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to engage the million plus elected representatives of the panchayats and urban local bodies for fighting the malpractice, the Ministry of Woman and Child Development has been asked to involve women members of panchayat and local bodies.

The child sex ratio in the 0-6 age group is on a continuous decline for the past four decades. The ratio of girls per 1000 boys declined 962 in 1981 to 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001.  This indicates that economic prosperity and education levels have not led to a reduction.

Except Kerala and Puducherry, all southern states and union territories are showing the same declining trend with the most disturbing results coming from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka, the child sex ratio has plummeted to 946 in 2001 from 960 in 1991. Ditto in Andhra Pradesh where the figure has come down to 961 in 2001 from 975 in 1991.

Dr Singh said that the menace is acute in richer states like Punjab which had only 798 girls for every 1000 boys. The corresponding figures for Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat are 819, 868 and 883 girls respectively per 1000 boys in the 2001 Census.

The Union Health Minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss said, a website, a toll free number to get information and to receive complaints against the violators and a tele-serial titled Atmajaa are the new initiatives taken by the ministry for increasing people’s awareness. The Ministry is also releasing Rs 5 lakh to each Member of Parliament for creating awareness in their constituencies.

Not adversaries

Meanwhile Mr Singh urged the private sector in education to consider regulatory institutions as partners rather than adversaries. The Prime Minister said they should accept a degree of regulation which was essential to efficient functioning of free markets.

Launching the Global Education and Leadership Programme here he said regulation was a necessary feature of liberalisation and essential to the fair functioning of free markets. Sharing the private sector’s concern over corruption in the field of regulation of educational institutions, Dr Singh said the Government was committed to ensure transparent functioning of regulatory institutions.