The Health & Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu has issued the instructions to all Civil Surgeons to immediately inform the State Medical Council and other concerned Registering authorities about the Doctor/Staff member of scanning centre against whom charges have been framed in court or conviction awarded in case under PC & PNDT Act.Presiding over a meeting of State Supervisory Board at Parivar Kalyan Bhawan regarding complying with the Provisions of PC & PNDT Act, Mr. Balbir Singh Sidhu said that if court case/FIR is registered against any doctor or any other registered person and charges framed in court or convicted by court, such as staff nurses or registered centre under PC&PNDT Act, the district appropriate authority should immediately send the information to the State Medical Council or concerned Registering Council. He also said that if the violators are convicted by the court, it is the duty of Health Department to inform the concerned regulatory authority for taking further appropriate action including suspension or cancellation of the registration of Doctor, Nurse, other staff members and Scanning Centre.Reacting on the higher rate of acquittal of violators, the Health Minister asked the Principal Secretary Health & FW, Mr. Anurag Aggarwal to look into the reasons for the acquittal of the doctors charged for violation of PC & PNDT act. He said that he would also review these cases in the next meeting. He said that it is a matter of concern if the eyewitness in the case such as decoy patient or officer of health department has retracted from his statement in court.
He said that soon State Government will come with the policy under which stern action should be taken against the erring persons.The Principal Secretary Health & Family Welfare Department Mr. Anurag Aggarwal on the occasion said that in order to crackdown on the mafia involved in this inhuman business of sex determination leading to female foeticide, instructions have already been sent to increase inspections/stings/raids in districts where sex ratio is low. He also informed the Board that 20 sting operations have been conducted in the State after signing MoU with private detective agency while 4 sting operations have been conducted by Civil Surgeons of 3 districts.He further said that Online Registration/ Renewal of Ultrasound Machines is in process. In future, all machines registration, renewal and cancellations operating in the State would be linked with the server and monitored at the State level. Also, In future, there is plan to fill and submit form F online. He also said that civil surgeons have been instructed to ensure the monitoring of early Registration of Pregnant ladies & Mother Child Tracking (MCT) at District & State level, with recording the outcome of pregnancy in each case.Amongst other prominent persons present in the meeting included MLA Ferozepur (Rural) Mrs. Satkar Kaur, MLA Bathinda (Rural) Mrs. Rupinder Kaur, Director Social Justice Minorities Devinder Singh, Mr. Harkesh Chand Sharma Political Secretary to Health Minister, Director Health & Family Welfare Dr. Avneet Kaur, Director Health Services (Family Welfare) Dr. Rita Bhardwaj, DDFW cum State Nodal Officer PCPNDT Dr. Mukesh Sondhi, Medical Officer PNDT Dr Rajesh Bhaskar, Registrar Punjab Medical Council Dr. Sanjeev Mahajan, Dr. Bhavneet Bharti PGI Chandigarh, Advocate Vandana Rana and other senior officers from stakeholder departments.