Chandigarh

Government’s ambitious ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign to save and empower girl child will be launched tomorrow by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Panipat in Haryana, the state with the lowest sex ratio.

The state government has decided to observe a holiday in all the government and non-government schools on the day.

The campaign will be implemented in 100 districts of the country, including 12 of Haryana where the number of girl child is dismally low.

The districts of Haryana where the scheme will be launched are– Mahendergarh, Jhajjar, Rewari, Sonepat, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Rohtak, Karnal, Yamuna Nagar, Kaithal, Bhiwani and Panipat.

Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said at Panipat yesterday that the campaign will start after a formal inauguration by Prime Minister Modi.

BBBP campaign is the fourth major initiative of the Narendra Modi-led Central Government after Jandhan Yojna, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Make in India.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and a number of Union and state ministers will be present at Panipat tomorrow.

A reward of Rs 1 crore will be given for the “innovative” village which attains a balanced sex ratio.

District Commissioner or ambassadors of the campaign will also be suitably rewarded by the Government.

Maneka Gandhi said this campaign will be extensively carried out to bring “positive psychological change” in the mindset of the people about girl child.

She urged state governments, district commissioners and other functionaries to work in tandem for the cause of the campaign and report the innovative programmes and initiatives taken by them which would be later sent to Prime Minister for review.

The districts of Haryana with adverse sex ratio are Jhajjar, Rewari, Rohtak, Ambala, Panipat and Sonepat.

Before the formal launch of the campaign, awareness yatras (drives) were taken out in different parts of the state and a two-day workshop was also held at Panipat.

Khattar has said that the state government is committed to ensure the empowerment of women including their education, security, health and hygiene.

“Though, it was a matter of pride that he has chosen Haryana for the launch of this ambitious programme on the other hand it was a matter of concern as why he has selected the state.

“The low sex ratio in the state is a concern and a challenge for us but the visit of Prime Minister will inspire us to further improve the sex ratio as compared to other states,” he said earlier.

Meanwhile, according to the Women and Child Development Ministry, the issue of decline in sex ratio is complex and multi-dimensional and the scheme will address the issue within the broad framework of survival, protection and education of girl children.

Under the scheme, a multi-sectoral strategy governed by the core principles of respecting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of girls and women, including the ending of gender based violence will be adopted.

The BBBP scheme is a joint initiative of Women and Child Development, Human Resource Development and Health Ministries.

The objective of the scheme is to prevent gender biased sex selective elimination by stern enforcement of all existing Legislations and Acts, especially by strengthening the implementation of Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (PC&PNDT Act) with stringent punishments for violations of the law.

Also, the objective is to ensure access and availability of essential requirements related to nutrition, healthcare, education and protection and elimination of discrimination of girl child which can lead to low self-esteem, lifelong deprivation and exclusion from the social mainstream.

Appropriate initiatives will be taken to encourage girls to express their views and to be heard, to participate actively, effectively and equally at all levels of social, economic, and political leadership.

Long term interventions for gender equality would focus on creating enabling environment including employable opportunities, safety and security, mobility and speedy justice.

The objectives will be achieved through convergence and coordination with concerned ministries, departments and district administration.

The trend of decline in the sex ratio, defined as number of girls per 1000 of boys between 0-6 years of age, has been unabated since 1961.

The decline from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001 and further to 918 in 2011 is alarming.

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