Mumbai, July 7 (IANS) Maharashtra Public Health Minister Prakash Abitkar on Tuesday announced in the Legislative Council that a state-level task force will be established, committees will be reconstituted, decoy operations will be boosted, and monitoring will be made more effective through the active participation of public representatives to ensure the effective implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.

This is aimed at protecting the female child birth rate and curbing illegal sex determination.

The announcement came during a short-duration discussion under Legislative Council Rule 97, initiated by member Neelam Gorhe, regarding the operational sex determination and abortion rackets despite the PCPNDT Act being in force in the state.

Members Pragya Satav, Manisha Kayande, Chitra Wagh, Rajiv Potdar, Bachchu Kadu, Vikram Kale, Madhavi Naik, Umatai Khapre, and Bhavana Gawali participated in the discussion.

Acknowledging the critical points raised by the members, Abitkar stated that the reward for successful decoy operations has been significantly increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,00,000, and awareness campaigns regarding this are underway.

He emphasised that merely making decisions is not enough; the expected results will only be achieved when the actual on-the-ground implementation becomes highly effective.

Abitkar further informed the House that fresh appointments have been made to the State Inspection and Monitoring Committee, the State Advisory Committee, and the State Supervisory Board. District-level committees have also been made fully functional.

A comprehensive operations schedule has been drafted in coordination with the Women and Child Development Department, and active efforts are underway to eliminate legal loopholes in the existing framework.

The state-level task force will operate from Pune and will conduct real-time monitoring of the PCPNDT Act’s implementation across the state. This task force will include female public representatives from both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council to establish an independent oversight mechanism, the health minister said.

Abitkar expressed confidence that if public representatives conduct district-wise reviews, the ground implementation of these decisions will be far more effective, thereby strengthening the protective mechanism for the girl child.

–IANS

sj/dan