Kolkata: West Bengal’s government late on Wednesday approved the formation of a Transgender Development Board, for the welfare and development of the 30,000 plus strong community in the state.
Speaking to reporters here at the state secretariat, State Women and Child Welfare Minister Sashi Panja said, “the state cabinet has approved the formation of a development board for the transgender in the state which reflects the concern and kindness of chief minister Mamata Banerjee towards all sections of the society.”
“Very often, we come across transgender [people] who have been deprived of education, employment opportunities and are seen begging on the streets for a livelihood. To attend to their problems, we have constituted a board. This will be the first board in the country which is formed for development and not welfare,” Panja said.
The board would be headed by a chairperson appointed by the State Cabinet and have 12 members including representatives from various transgender communities, the minister added.
“We will give them [transgender] identity cards, so that they can look after their health and education and ensure overall development, which is their basic right as human beings,” Panja said.
After the formation, the first task of the board will be to organise a proper census in the state, as the government believes that the number of transgender in the state is much higher than the present official figure.
“Only two other Indian states, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, [set up] transgender development boards in 2008 and 2014 respectively, but those are meant for welfare, not development. We want society to look towards them with dignity and not objects of ridicule,” the minister said in her statement.
The proposal comes weeks before the crucial civic polls in the state, where the ruling Trinamool Congress is expected to face a tough challenge from both outside and within as rebel leaders like Mukul Roy, have withdrawn from the poll process.
“It is good that the state has constituted a board for the development of the third gender. But all these proposals should have come much earlier,” said an Indian National Congress leader.
