New Delhi: The sex ratio in more than a dozen states, including Karnataka, Delhi, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar and Haryana, saw a decline between 2021-22 and 2022-23, as per the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) data.However, this occurred despite a success report of the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme by the NITI Aayog, which uses sex ratio at birth as a parameter for the progress of the scheme.According to Deccan Herald, Ladakh stands out as the only state/Union territory in the country where the number of girl children is more than boys. It has a sex ratio of 1,023.In some states like Rajasthan, Telangana, Assam, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, the sex ratio has shown an improvement, the report added.In Karnataka, the sex ratio fell from 949 in 2020–21 to 940 in 2021–22, but there was a slight recovery in 2022–23 when it marginally rose to 945.In Delhi, the sex ratio was 927 in 2020–21, fell to 924 in 2021–22, and further fell to 916 in 2022–23. The sex ratio in West Bengal fell from 949 in 2020–21 to 943 in 2021–22 and then to 932 in 2022–23, said the government data.Bihar saw a decline from 917 in 2020–21 to 915 in 2021–22, and then fell to 895 in 2022–23. Chandigarh, too, registered a steep fall. It first rose from 935 in 2020–21 to 941 in 2021–22, and then down to 902 in 2022–23.In Himachal, it fell from 944 in 2020–21 to 941 in 2021–22 and 932 in 2022–23.In states like Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Kerala, the sex ratio showed improvement. In UP, it first fell from 940 in 2020-21 to 939 in 2021-22 but then improved to 944 in 2022-23. In Assam, it rose from 942 in 2020-21 to 944 in 2021-22, and then further rose to 951 in 2022-23. In Rajasthan, the sex ratio (946) remained the same in all three years, the newspaper reported.The daily further said that several states had significant amounts of unutilised funds that were allocated for the scheme by the WCD ministry.For instance, in 2020–21, Haryana utilised only Rs 142.26 lakh of the Rs 249.83 lakh, and in 2021–22, it used only Rs 27.09 lakh of the Rs 162.8 lakh it received.On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh utilised Rs 742.60 lakh in 2020–21 even when Rs 577.95 lakh was released under the scheme, but in 2021–22, it used only Rs 162.89 lakh of the Rs 1,499.45 lakh that was allocated.This raises questions about the effective implementation and management of the allocated resources under the scheme.