Maharashtra Public Health Minister Prakash Abitkar on Tuesday, 7 July announced in the Legislative Council that the state will establish a dedicated task force to strengthen enforcement of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act, targeting illegal sex determination and abortion rackets that continue to operate despite the law being in force. The announcement marks one of the most comprehensive overhauls of the Act's implementation machinery in the state in recent years.

Key Announcements in the Legislative Council

The disclosure came during a short-duration discussion under Legislative Council Rule 97, initiated by member Neelam Gorhe, who raised concerns about the persistence of sex determination and illegal abortion networks across Maharashtra. Members Pragya Satav, Manisha Kayande, Chitra Wagh, Rajiv Potdar, Bachchu Kadu, Vikram Kale, Madhavi Naik, Umatai Khapre, and Bhavana Gawali participated in the discussion, reflecting broad legislative concern over the issue.

Acknowledging the critical points raised, Abitkar confirmed that the reward for successful decoy operations has been raised sharply — from ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 — and that awareness campaigns are already underway to publicise the enhanced incentive.

Institutional Overhaul and New Committees

Fresh appointments have been made to the State Inspection and Monitoring Committee, the State Advisory Committee, and the State Supervisory Board. District-level committees have also been made fully functional. A comprehensive operations schedule has been drafted in coordination with the Women and Child Development Department, and efforts are underway to plug legal loopholes in the existing regulatory framework.

Abitkar underscored that decisions alone are insufficient. 'The expected results will only be achieved when the actual on-the-ground implementation becomes highly effective,' he said, emphasising accountability at every level of the enforcement chain.

State-Level Task Force to Be Based in Pune

The new state-level task force will operate from Pune and will conduct real-time monitoring of PC-PNDT Act enforcement across Maharashtra. Notably, the task force will include female public representatives from both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council, creating an independent oversight mechanism with direct political accountability. This is a structural departure from previous enforcement models, which relied primarily on bureaucratic oversight.

Why This Matters for the Girl Child

Maharashtra has historically grappled with skewed sex ratios in several districts, making PC-PNDT enforcement a persistent public health and gender equity challenge. The decoy operation reward increase — a tenfold jump — signals a shift toward incentivising frontline whistleblowing. Abitkar expressed confidence that district-wise reviews by public representatives would make ground-level implementation significantly more effective, thereby reinforcing the state's protective framework for the girl child.

With the task force set to begin operations from Pune and institutional committees already reconstituted, the focus now shifts to execution — and whether this latest push will translate into measurable improvements in Maharashtra's child sex ratio.