Delhi’s sex ratio worsening,Sheila to rethink girl child schemes

“What is most shocking is that the worst ratio in the city is in South Delhi,where the city’s elite reside,” Dikshit told Newsline on Sunday,when asked about Singh’s letter and the census’ findings.

The statistics released this April by the Directorate of Census Operations as part of the Provisional Population Counts show the child sex ratio in the national capital is less than the national average of 914.

The survey relates to the last decade,during which the Dikshit government has been in power and has been publicising its initiatives to promote the girl child as one of its key achievements.

In her reply to the Prime Minister,Dikshit said she has mentioned the initiatives her government took over the decade to encourage families to value and encourage girl children.

“But,now we are re-thinking. I plan to call a meeting of all the departments concerned and review our strategy,” Dikshit said.

She said several of her government’s initiatives,like encouraging families to educate their daughters and promoting personal hygiene among girls,have had a good impact and that there was a “mindset problem” among people on the issue.

“We haven’t been as successful because the problem,I feel,is one of mindset (of people). Changing the mindset will take time. It is also for the society to understand that this is a problem that must be addressed,” she said.

The census show child sex ratio over the last decade has improved only in three of Delhi’s nine administrative districts- East,West,and Northwest. The lowest is in the Southwest district,which has 836 girls for every 1,000 boys.

This district is an amalgamation of urban and rural areas and includes 88 villages. It also includes the relatively affluent areas such as Vasant Vihar,Vasant Kunj,Delhi Cantonment,R K Puram,Moti Bagh and others.