‘Complaint Officers’ To Hear Grievances Of Transgenders In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: A complaint officer will soon deal with the grievances of transgenders. A decision in this regard was taken by the Odisha government with an aim to put an end to the troubles that people from this community face in government offices.

Secretaries in all departments have been asked by the Department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities to designate ‘Complaint Officers’ in their respective departments. The officers will deal with allegations related to violation of Provisions under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.

Section-11 of the Act mandates that all government offices should designate special officers to look into the complaints made by transgender.

“You are therefore requested to intimate all the establishments under your administrative control for designating Complaint Officers and submit a copy of the same to this Department for information and records,” stated a letter by SSEPD Department.

The Act, which was drafted by Parliament in November 2019, prohibits discrimination against the transgender community in the fields of employment, education, housing, healthcare and other services. It allows self-perception of gender identity and mandates that the person would have to be recognised as “transgender” on the basis of a certificate of identity card issued by the District Magistrate, the letter added.

In July this year, the state government had approved a proposal to include the transgender community under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY,) which aims at providing financial assistance to the destitute elderly, differently-abled persons and widows.

The government has also been announcing welfare measures for the transgenders in view of the promises made in BJD’s manifesto for 2019 Assemble polls.