Haryana to shoots off notices on 393 anganwadi workers over illegal abortions
Haryana health department on Tuesday decided to issue show-cause notices to 393 anganwadi workers whose areas reported cases of illegal abortions, involving pregnant women who already had one or more daughters.
The decision was taken during a review meeting chaired by additional chief secretary (health) Sudhir Rajpal, who assessed the progress of the ongoing campaign against illegal abortions, illegal sex determination tests and misuse of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) kits.
A government spokesperson said that these anganwadi workers were assigned as SAHELIs (companions) to provide counselling and support to expectant mothers with daughters, under a targeted monitoring programme. The show-cause notices were recommended due to their failure to prevent or report illegal abortions in their designated areas.
The SAHELI initiative, part of the state's strategy to combat female foeticide, assigns an ASHA or anganwadi worker to monitor and support each pregnant woman who already has one or more daughters.
Over 50,000 such women are currently being tracked across the state by civil surgeons and health officials.
Rajpal directed the women and child development department to take immediate action against the negligent workers and to intensify efforts to prevent sex-selective practices. He also ordered strict surveillance of all MTP and ultrasound centres to curb illegal sex determination and abortion procedures.
The ACS also called for 100% registration of births, especially in districts like Mewat, Gurugram, Palwal and Faridabad, where underreporting of child birth is common. He also instructed deputy chief medical officers to organise birth registration camps in slum areas and mobilise inter-district inspection teams to investigate any complaints of illegal abortions or sex selection.
Officials were also asked to actively involve NGOs, ASHA workers, panchayati raj representatives and community leaders in promoting the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' campaign, aimed at improving the status of girl children in the state.
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