'Crime against women up 61% in 5 years'

Lucknow: In an eye-opening report on the empowerment of women in the state, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found unflattering results in most segments over the past five years.
The report, tabled in UP assembly on Tuesday, said that crime against women had increased by 61% between 2010-11 and 2014-15. The CAG report also pointed out that there was a 43% increase in cases of rape and 21% increase in cases of kidnapping and abduction of girls/women in 2013-14 compared to the previous year.
The CAG also stated that there was shortage of 55% in police manpower in the state. If the gap was not immediately bridged, the situation would worsen the crime scenario in the state, the CAG warned.
It also pointed out that women police personnel constitute only 4.6% of the total police force in the state against a home ministry advisory of 2009 that recommended 33%.
In the health sector, the CAG report showed that majority of the 54% rural women still depend on home deliveries by unskilled birth attendants. The target of institutional deliveries was only 1.24 crore (46% registered pregnant women) during 2010-15.
The CAG report also came down heavily on district authorities, stating that they did not conduct prescribed number of inspections of ultrasonography centres. In 96% cases, the district authorities did not issue inspection reports. Despite rampant breaches (58%) in mandatory provisions to run ultrasonography centres, no action was taken or penalty imposed on the defaulting centres by district magistrates, the CAG report further stated. The CAG also stated that only 6% of community health centres in the state had facilities to medically terminate a pregnancy.
Another shocking revelation was that 42% of children in the state are underweight and the number of severely malnourished children has increased more than five times from 0.28 lakh in 2010-11 to 1.46 lakh in 2014-15. Ration under Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls was not provided to 13.45 lakh (28%) adolescent girls from 2011-15.
The CAG report also presents a dismal picture as far as birth control measures are concerned. While target for vasectomy was 20 times higher than tubectomy, achievement for tubectomy were 41 times of vasectomy in absolute numbers.
Citing government response, the CAG report stated: "The UP government has accepted the recommendations and suggestions given in the report and assured that required action would be taken."