Angul: The state government has spent over Rs 60 lakh in last three years under Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana (BKRY) to bring about an improvement in the sex ratio at birth (SRB) and child sex ratio (CSR) in the district.
However, the scheme has gone haywire here after the birth of newborn girls declined in the district than previous years. According to 2011 Census— the number of girl child in the district was 889 girls per 1,000 boys which has declined now to 883 girls per 1,000 boys.
The state government launched the scheme in 2016 for the development of girls in Ganjam, Dhenkanal and Angul districts. The scheme was to be implemented for three years in these districts on a pilot basis.
Gourishankar Behera, nodal officer of the scheme, said several awareness programmes have been undertaken to sensitise the people about the objective of the scheme. “However, there is still a need for a change in mindset to make the scheme a success,” he opined.
According to the 2011 Census— the child sex ratio in Angul district was more than Nayagarh district but less than Ganjam district.
The state government in its bid to remove this gender disparity and provide equal facilities and opportunities to girls launched the scheme in 2016. The overall goal of the scheme was to create an enabling environment for the survival and development of the girl child and secure her dignity as well as to stop the gender disparity.
The scheme was to create awareness on gender discrimination against girls, their health, nutrition and education.
According to the provision of the scheme, the state government will spend Rs 3.5 crore for three years; which was expected to be completed by March 31 this year.
The scheme also aimed at providing elementary education to girls, provision of toilets for girls in every school, self defence training for them, tracking dropout ratio of girls from schools, promotion of access to education, sensitising adolescent girls on sexual and reproductive health issues, training of elected representatives/grassroots functionaries as community champions to mobilise communities to improve CSR (in this regard) and girls’ education.
Initially, the district administration displayed enough promptitude for the successful implementation of the scheme, sources said. It was decided then that awareness programmes will be undertaken in all the eight blocks of the district involving the district Collector, BDOs of the respective blocks, district child protection officer, block social security officer, gram panchayat officials, block programme manager and respective hospital staff.
The awareness programmes were undertaken in 130 schools and one college in each block. Over 1,500 members of Gaon Kalyan Samiti participated in the drive along with self-help group members, ASHA and Anganwadi workers. The district administration even felicitated 80 girls for their contribution in various fields. A survey was undertaken in 2017 whose results were indicative of an increase in the number of girl child.
Later, the claim turned out to be hollow as a PNDT report suggested that the number of girl child has declined to 883. This has happened as more and more parents wishing for a male child visit diagnostic centres outside to conduct a pre-natal diagnostic test of the unborn foetus, said Parshuram Panda, nodal officer for the PNDT in the district.
PNN
