BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Friday directed all departments to strictly implement existing guidelines ensuring that every recruitment portal and examination process explicitly includes ‘transgender/third gender’ as a distinct option, providing equal opportunity to all in public employment.
The direction was issued during the first meeting of the reconstituted State Transgender Welfare Board, chaired by the Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) minister Nityananda Gond. The board also directed that District Transgender Protection Cells, headed by collectors, be made fully operational to ensure prompt registration of complaints, investigation of crimes and legal protection for transgender persons.
It proposed establishment of a dedicated Transgender Cyber Protection Cell and a toll-free helpline to address online harassment and social media defamation targeting the community.
The meeting reviewed ongoing welfare initiatives and deliberated on several proposals to strengthen healthcare, education, housing and social security for transgender persons, including free gender-affirmation surgeries at government medical colleges, establishing dedicated healthcare facilities, extending housing benefits under the PM-AWAS and Basundhara schemes and introducing a 1 per cent reservation, tuition fee waivers, separate hostels and dedicated washrooms in educational institutions. The board also proposed constructing a community hall in Puri and conducting a comprehensive census of the LGBT community to support evidence-based policymaking.