Alarmed over a decline in the sex ratio at birth (SRB), the Haryana Government has suspended four senior medical officers for alleged negligence in monitoring and implementing programmes aimed at curbing female foeticide and improving gender balance in the state.
The action was ordered by Additional Chief Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) Dr Sumita Misra after a review of the January-April 2026 data revealed that Haryana’s SRB had dropped to 898 girls per 1,000 boys. During the period, the state recorded 84,953 male births against 76,305 female births.
The latest figure marks a decline from 909 recorded during the corresponding period in 2025. Haryana had recorded an SRB of 923 in 2025 — the highest in the past five years — compared with 910 in 2024.
The government has recently intensified its campaign against illegal sex determination practices and directed district authorities to strengthen enforcement and awareness drives.
The suspended officials are Dr Tina Anand, SMO at Community Health Centre (CHC), Purkhas in Sonepat; Dr Vijay Parmar, SMO at CHC Radaur in Yamunanagar; Dr Satpal, SMO at CHC Chiri in Rohtak; and Dr Prabha, Medical Officer at CHC Sehlang in Narnaul.
During the suspension period, the officers will remain attached to the offices of Civil Surgeons in Rohtak, Ambala, Jhajjar and Rewari, respectively.
The government has also initiated disciplinary proceedings against them under Rule 7 of the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 2016. The official order cited “poor performance and failure to ensure effective monitoring and implementation of measures relating to improvement of sex ratio” as the reason for the action.
Among districts, Karnal recorded the best SRB at 968 girls per 1,000 boys, followed by Faridabad and Kurukshetra at 932 each, Palwal at 924 and Nuh at 913. Gurugram and Jind were among the poorer performers with SRBs of 863 and 872, respectively.
Several districts witnessed sharp declines in SRB. Charkhi Dadri recorded the steepest fall, dropping from 853 in January-April 2025 to 769 this year. Ambala declined from 906 to 843, Jhajjar from 947 to 876, Yamunanagar from 956 to 881, and Panchkula from 966 to 901.
In Sirsa district, the SRB stood at 883 girls per 1,000 boys, with 2,601 girls and 2,947 boys born during the first four months of the year.
Some villages reported alarmingly low figures. Jalalana village recorded only 222 girls per 1,000 boys, while Odhan and Panniwala Mota reported 412 and 455, respectively. At the same time, a few villages showed significant improvement through awareness campaigns. Nuhianwali village recorded 10 girls and four boys among 14 births, resulting in an SRB of 2,500 girls per 1,000 boys, while Kingre village reported 3,000 girls per 1,000 boys.
