The Janai Shishu Suraksha Yojna through which the government will provide ambulance service or bear/reimburse the transport expenses of pregnant women going back and forth from the hospital to their homes will be implemented from this August. The announcement was made by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday at a function organised at India Gate to commemorate “World Population Day”.
The aim of the scheme is to minimise maternal and child death rate by ensuring safe institutional deliveries.
Ms. Dikshit said she was concerned about the increasing imbalance in the gender ratio due to female foeticide and exhorted all concerned citizens to raise their voices against this evil. She also announced that her government was working on a proposal to bring about harsher punishments for those practising it, as the gender ratio can be made even only if society intensifies its campaign to save the girl child at any cost.
Health Minister, Dr. A. K. Walia, who also expressed concern over the increasing instances of maternal deaths and infanticide, said the Health and Family Welfare Department has organised a programme to provide information on the advantages of a small family and to educate families on the importance of spacing in child birth.
At the function, a large number of students participated and took an oath to bring awareness about population stabilisation.
