BHUBANESWAR: In a significant move, the Odisha government has constituted the State Transgender Welfare Board to protect the interest of members from the transgender community in the state.
Issuing a formal notification to this effect, the Social Security and Empowerment of Persons of Disabilities (SSEPD) department stated that the new board has been formed as per the rules of the Transgender (Protection of Rights) Rule, 2020.
The board that will work for the development and welfare of the transgender members in the state will be headed by the SSEPD minister as its chairman. SSEPD secretary will be the vice-chairman, while director of the department will be its member secretary.
In addition, the DGP, additional secretary from the SSEPD department and representatives from Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water, Housing and Urban Development, Skill Development and Technical Education, Higher Education and School and Mass Education departments will be its members. Two representatives from transgender person community Dipti Ranjan Mohapatra and Soumya Das have also been nominated as members.
The Board will also have representatives from TG Surakhya Trust, Bhubaneswar and Chetana, Balugaon. Collectors of Balangir, Angul and Khurda have also been nominated as its members.
The state government had announced formation of the Welfare Board in May 2025. SSEPD officials said the Board will play a crucial role in undertaking surveys and work out plans and policies for the development and welfare of transgender persons in the state and ensure their smooth implementation.
Sources said the department had issued the first notification on formation of the Board on April 21, 2026 with chief secretary as its chairperson. However, the notification was scrapped and renotified with the minister as its chairman. Ex-chairman of the TG Committee in SSEPD, Pratap Kumar Sahu, however, pointed out it lacked adequate representation from the transgender community. Sahu said it should have at least eight members representing transgender community in it.