Anuradha Nagraj| The News Minute| July 19, 2014| 10.00 am ISTJust outside the maternity ward at the Chikkbalapur district hospital, 80 odd kms from Bangalore, a cradle has recently been placed in a corner. It has been christened “God’s Cradle” and a poster above it explains that it is part of the latest initiative under the integrated child protection scheme (ICPS) to help all “unwanted babies”. This cradle is one of the many expected to be set-up across the country under new guidelines from the Woman and Child Development Ministry to protect the girl child. And barely a month after it was inaugurated, the cradle has been rocked by furious debate over its significance.As a part of its initiative to “prevent female infanticide and sex selective abortion”, the woman and child development ministry has asked every district to ensure they have Cradle Baby Reception Centres operational at primary health centres, Swadhaar centres, offices of the district child protection society, hospitals, nursing homes and adoption agencies. The beneficiaries according to the ICPS website are “all unwanted babies who are abandoned and vulnerable to be trafficked”.The initiative has been inspired by a similar scheme that was started in Tamil Nadu in 1992 and allowed parents to leave unwanted baby girls in empty cradles in hospitals, welfare centres and government offices. The children were then put up for adoption.The Tamil Nadu government reasoned that the scheme offered the “potential of a better life” for unwanted babies. Officials implementing the guidelines in Karnataka put forth the same argument and say that this will “prevent girl babies from being dumped in drains, trashcans or being killed”. “Moreover, the State will then take care of the child and nurture it,” explains an official unwilling to be identified. But not everyone is convinced. From questions of children being stolen from the cradles to giving parents an easy option to dump their baby girl, the need and effectiveness of the scheme is being debated.Since the scheme started in Tamil Nadu, child rights activists have consistently opposed it, arguing that it simply absolves parents of their responsibilities towards daughters.Anjali Tara Pawar, director of Pune based non-governmental organization Sakhee argues that abandoning a child is a “crime”. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, all children have a basic right to be cared for by biological parents and the state is required to ensure that children are not separated from them. The Cradle scheme does just that Pawar argues.Further, in a recent article in a Marathi newspaper Sakal, Pawar writes that these cradles will not affect the number of babies abandon in trashcans or street corners. “Parents who want to abandon look for anonymous places and the last place they will put their child in is a cradle where the possibility of someone seeing them is greater. Also, even families which can take care of their girl child will be tempted to use this facility.”More than two decades after the first “cradle babies” were placed for adoption, activists say that “there is no systematic information on the state of cradle babies”.“The birth history of a child left in a cradle is lost forever and that is the biggest issue,” says Mary Paul, executive director of Bangalore based Vathsalya Charitable Trust. “The entire focus today is on birth parent preservation. Not wanting a girl child and economics are both not reasons to abandon.”With an increasing number of adopted children wanting to retrace their roots, the “not knowing” is proving to be a challenge. Activists like Pawar, who help adopted children trace their family tree, say that agencies are categorically denying details of the child. In many cases, they simply don’t know because the child was left in a cradle.In Tamil Nadu, the government has categorically stated that the scheme has been a success, putting forth data to show that more than 50 per cent of the abandoned girl babies have been adopted by families in the state. They add that gender ratios have improved in regions where the project was concentrated.Right activists say that it is greater awareness and better advocacy that has slowly seen the shift. Across the board, they agree that promoting abandonment of girls will not tackle the causes of female infanticide.“All the government has done is tell parents that keep having children till you get the son you want and abandon the girl babies you don’t want,” says Pawar, adding that instead focus should be on stringent implementation of existing laws to protect the girl child.Cradle Baby Reception Centres as per Women and Child Development departmentIs a drive to prevent female infanticide, sex selective abortions Cradle Baby Reception Centres have been set up under the ICPS.Who are the beneficiaries?All unwanted babies those who are abandoned and vulnerable to be traffickedWhere are the Cradle Reception Centres?Specialised adoption agency in each districtPrimary Health Care CentresHospitals and Nursing HomesShort Stay HomesSwadhar Reception CentresOffice of District Child Protection Society (DCPS)