Delhi fact finding Report on Conditions of Female Sterilization in Delhi

Post Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2016

In response to the submission of the counter affidavit by the Government of the National Capital Territory (N.C.T.) of Delhi (Respondent No. 10) in the case of Devika Biswas v. Union of India and Ors. (W.P Civil 95/2012) regarding unsafe and unlawful sterilizations, the Human Rights Law Network conducted a fact-finding in Delhi to investigate sterilization conditions. This report is the result of the fact-finding mission and provides a brief introduction to the N.C.T. of Delhi, outlines key government guidelines, details the results of the fact-finding, and summarizes key concerns.

The N.C.T. of Delhi includes the city of Delhi, which is the capital of India. The population of this relatively small area of 1,483 square kilometres was 16,753,235 as of the 2011 census, a population higher than several other much larger Indian states.   The N.C.T. of Delhi was ranked the number one state in population density in the 2001 and 2011 census results, with the 2011 data revealing a density of 11,297 people per square kilometre, equalling more than 2000 additional people per square kilometre than the state ranked second (Chandigarh).   The decadal growth rate for the N.C.T. of Delhi, at 20.96 percent for 2001-2011, is both higher than that of most other states and than the national average of 17.64.  

The population growth in Delhi is connected to the exodus of indigent rural people to urban centres. Many indigent rural people come to urban centres looking for work, which has contributed greatly to the growth of slums in and around Delhi. According to UN HABITAT, a slum is a “heavily populated urban area characterised by substandard housing and squalor.”   These areas lack fundamental amenities such as safe water, sanitation facilities, basic