Pune: Calling for stronger coordination between the police and health departments, Legislative Council Deputy Chairperson Dr Neelam Gorhe on Monday urged the Maharashtra government to introduce a common Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) across the state for the effective enforcement of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
Gorhe made the demand while chairing a review meeting on pending cases under the PCPNDT and MTP Acts from Pune, Sangli, Satara and Solapur districts at the New Administrative Building in Pune. The meeting was convened following directions issued by Health Minister Prakash Abitkar after Dr Gorhe raised concerns over the implementation of the two Acts during a short-duration discussion in the Legislative Council.
The meeting was attended by Health Department Director Dr Vijay Kandewad, Additional Director Dr Sandeep Sangale, Deputy Director Dr Bhagwan Pawar, Dr D.T. Kanagule and other senior officials. District-level officers from the police, health and revenue departments participated through video conferencing.
Dr Gorhe said the coordinated mechanism being followed in the four districts should serve as a model for the rest of Maharashtra. She stressed that a joint SOP prepared by the police and health departments would help improve investigations, ensure timely action and increase conviction rates in cases related to illegal sex determination and violations of the MTP Act.
She instructed officials to examine all cases registered over the last 10 years, assess the status of convictions and pending trials, and identify shortcomings in investigations before drafting the state-wide SOP. She also underlined the need for a stronger communication network so that information about offences registered in one district is immediately shared with authorities in other districts.
Expressing concern over lapses in monitoring, Dr Gorhe questioned how district health authorities remained unaware of a serious case reported from Phaltan. She recommended that offences under the PCPNDT and MTP Acts be heard in fast-track courts and sought stricter action against offenders, including attachment of illegally acquired assets, sealing of sonography machines used in offences within four days and regular inspections of suspected illegal centres.
She also called for stringent action against the online sale of abortion medicines, saying such activities require close monitoring and enforcement.
Apart from legal enforcement, Dr Gorhe proposed several awareness initiatives, including counselling for families with a first-born girl child through ASHA workers, legal awareness programmes for members of women's vigilance committees and leadership training for 80 ASHA workers. She also offered support for installing CCTV cameras at vulnerable locations using legislators' local area development funds.
Health Department Director Dr Vijay Kandewad informed the meeting that inspections of registered sonography centres are being carried out on a regular basis. He asked officials from the police and health departments to submit their recommendations for the proposed joint SOP by August 5.
