Eluru District Collector K. Vetri Selvi on Wednesday (Jan 28) directed officials to register criminal cases against hospitals and scanning centers that conduct sex determination tests, which is prohibited under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.
She participated in the meeting of the coordination committee of the border districts at the Collectorate.
Reviewing the implementation of the PCPNDT Act, the collector emphasized that fetal sex determination is a criminal offense and called for more intensive monitoring and operations to curb it.
She tasked officials to ensure that checks are meaningful and lead to strict punishment of wrongdoers. According to her, educational programs about the provisions of the law should be carried out extensively, with the understanding that data from the Mother and Child Monitoring System must be used effectively. Coordination between the Health Department, ICDS officials, ANMs, ASHA workers and Anganwadi centers was emphasized to protect maternal and child health and prevent anemia and malnutrition among pregnant women.
The Collector also directed the officials to verify that the scanning centers maintain mandatory registers and monitor follow-up visits of pregnant women. Special sub-committees should be formed with officials from border mandals to identify abortion-related cases and suspect scanning centres.
She urged the public to report offenses through the toll-free number 1800-425-6131. If illegal sex determination is confirmed, criminal cases should be filed immediately, licenses of the scanning center canceled and registration of doctors should be revoked. The meeting was attended by District Medical Officer and Health Officer PJ Amrutham, ICDS PD Sharada, ITDA officials and doctors from government and private hospitals.
Published – 28 Jan 2026 18:55 IST
