Acknowledging that female foeticide has not stopped in Karnataka, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday said the government was stepping up enforcement and appointing separate nodal officers in every district to curb the practice.

Responding to a question by BJP MLC C T Ravi in the Legislative Council, Rao described female foeticide as a “social evil” and said the state was tightening monitoring mechanisms.

"Female foeticides have certainly not stopped. If you look at the sex ratio, there is a lot of difference. I accept that this is happening," the minister said.

Rao said foeticides were occurring not due to coercion but by choice, driven by a preference against girl children.

"Foeticides are not happening under pressure; voluntarily, it is happening, for not wanting a girl child. These things are happening based on the sex determination of the foetus at some hospitals. Sex determination is illegal, but with the advancement in technology, portable ultrasound machines have been developed, which can be easily carried anywhere, and scans and tests can be done. This needs to be controlled. We will bring it to the notice of the central government," he said.

The minister added that intelligence inputs in some districts and hospitals indicated a disproportionately higher registration of male births, underscoring the need for stricter oversight.

"Information is being gathered on the taluk in which the male-female ratio is worsening, what is happening in which hospital, and appropriate action is being taken to crack down on such a network, after proper evaluation." Decoy operations have been done at seven places in the last two years, to identify those involved in illegal activities linked to female foeticides, and actions have been taken against officials and hospitals involved, he said, adding that more needs to be done on priority.

Responding to a question by Ravi about whether any stringent legislation is being brought, Rao said, the government will consider strengthening the legislation and making it stricter to control this.

"Some amendments have been made to the existing laws in the last two years....advanced technology and the internet is being used to carry out such things, also oral medicines for abortions are available over the counter.

We need to look into bringing legislation to control them. The Food and Drug Administration has issued instructions to pharmacists that the sale of such drugs should be documented." The minister also said that measures are also being taken for the effective implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC & PNDT) Act, and awareness is being created against the identification of female foetuses and female foeticide.