TS sets up Transgender Welfare Board to protect rights of transpersons
The GO was issued after the director of the Welfare of Disabled and Senior Citizens, Hyderabad, submitted a proposal for the constitution of a welfare board for transgenders
By Amrutha Kosuru Published on 23 Aug 2022 2:30 AM GMT
Hyderabad: To provide better access to healthcare and education to transgenders, the Telangana government launched the Transgender Welfare Board. The government of Telangana issued an order to constitute a welfare board for transgender persons in the state to protect the rights and interests of transpersons as per Rule 10 (1) of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules 2020 issued by the government of India.
The GO was issued after the director of the Welfare of Disabled and Senior Citizens, Hyderabad, submitted a proposal for the constitution of a welfare board for transgenders. Telangana minister for the disabled welfare and senior citizen's department, Koppula Eshwar, will be the chairperson for the Transgender State Welfare Board. Officials from various government departments such as tribal welfare, BC welfare, education, and panchayati raj will be the ex-officio members.
Additionally, six transgender persons ā Navadeep Pannala (Tashi Choedup), Meera Sanghamitra, Rachana Mudraboyina, Kiran Raj Gollapalli, Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli, and Laila Oruganti ā will be part of the welfare board. "The welfare board must voice the aspirations of the teeming lakhs of transgender persons in Telangana," said Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli, an activist.
The functions of the board include advising the state government on formulating policies, programmes, legislations, and projects for transgender persons. It will also monitor and evaluate the impact of policies and programmes designed to achieve equality and full participation of transgender persons.
The board will review and coordinate the activities of all government departments and other government and non-government organisations that are dealing with matters relating to transgender persons.
As per the GO, the committee shall meet at least once in six months to advise the state government on the effective implementation of the Act and to perform such other functions in relation to transgenders. The tenure of the committee shall be for a period of two years, the GO stated. "The state welfare board's prime focus will be on education, vocational training, employment and livelihood, housing, healthcare, and reservations in public education," Vyjayanti added.
