Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada, Yadgir, Haveri, and Gadag districts of the state have been selected for the Union government’s much-awaited ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ programme from this year.

Union Women and Children Welfare Department officials informed the same during a high-level meeting on protection of child rights, under the chairmanship of Dakshina Kannada Additional Deputy Commissioner M L Vaishali, here on Saturday.

These districts have been selected since it was observed that the gap in the gender ratio was increasing. According to the census of 2001, in Dakshina Kannada, there were 1022 women for 1000 men, but it dipped to 1020 in 2011. The number of girls under 6-years of age has been decreased from 952 to 947, they informed.

A separate workforce has been formed for the implementation of the project. Special programmes will be designed for the protection of girl children’s rights under this.