What is startling is that at many of the clinics raided, doctors claimed they were not even aware of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994

Ultrasound clinics in the city of Mumbai are flagrantly violating laws designed to curb sex-selective abortion of girls in India, says a survey conducted by the Laadli Alliance, a coalition of 10 NGOs fighting to protect the girl-child. Worse, the clinics are registered with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), raising questions about the monitoring of this illegal activity by local health authorities.

The survey, conducted between June and August this year, revealed startling figures pointing to a skewed sex ratio in 10 wards in the suburb of Chembur in north Mumbai. The Alliance surveyed 47 ultrasound clinics in the M (west) ward. The study revealed that of the 40 clinics that could be traced, only one had obeyed the law by maintaining all records. The rest had inadequate documentation, raising suspicions that the clinics may have been conducting pre-natal sex-determination tests in violation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prevention of Misuse) (PCPNDT) Act, 1994.

The report has been sent to Maharashtra’s public health and family welfare departments as well as the National PCPNDT Cell of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The Alliance has demanded strict action against the offending establishments and better monitoring by the city’s health authorities.

“Four teams armed with authorisation letters from the BMC surveyed 47 sonography clinics in M (west) ward between July 18 and August 8, 2007,” said Bobby Sista, trustee of Population First, a group working to promote awareness of population problems. “Seven of the clinics were non-operational and 39 of the remaining 40 were found to be flouting various rules of the PCPNDT Act.”

The PCPNDT Act states that it is mandatory for clinics to maintain the following documents and records on their premises: display a notice in both the local language and English saying ‘Determination of the sex of the foetus is banned and illegal’, a qualification certificate of the doctor, a registration certificate of the clinic, a copy of the PCPNDT Act, referral letters from doctors, a separate register with the records of pregnant women who have undergone ultrasound tests, and a duly filled ‘F’ form, and a signed statement from the patient and doctor stating that no sex-determination test had been conducted in the clinic.

Many of the 40 clinics were found to be defaulters on one of the five laws laid down by the PCPNDT Act. Only nine had displayed the notice, only six out of 40 doctors had displayed their qualification certificates, and only 22 their registration certificates. Only five clinics had antenatal care registers, while only 10 had a copy of the PCPNDT Act. ‘F’ forms weren’t found at 14 clinics.

“What’s shocking is that many doctors claimed that they were not even aware of the Act,” said Dr A L Sharada, programme director of Population First. It is precisely this ‘lack of awareness’ about the PCPNDT Act, whether real or just a convenient excuse, which makes it mandatory for local authorities to regularly monitor the clinics.

The BMC’s excuse for lax monitoring is the standard one trotted out by a negligent bureaucracy -- shortage of manpower. “The health department had a lot of work like monitoring monsoon-related diseases. We do not have additional staff to conduct raids,” said Dr Jairaj Thanekar, executive health officer. “In spite of the limited infrastructure we will try and do surprise checks in four or five clinics in each ward every month,” he added.

This is not the first time that the failure of the BMC monitoring mechanism has been exposed. In April 2006, a central team from New Delhi raided two south Mumbai clinics for PCPNDT violations, one of which had actually been awarded a certificate of merit by the BMC.

Source: The Indian Express, August 28, 2007
               www.dnaindia.com, August 28, 2007