Dev of transgender persons: Draft based on the 2019 Act made

KOLKATA: The state government has already prepared the draft based upon the 2019 Act conceived by the Centre for development of transgender persons, state Women and Child Development (W& CD) Minister Shashi Panja said on Wednesday at the state assembly. The rules pertaining to the Act was framed in 2020.

"We have already prepared the draft and are waiting for the vetting of the Law department for release of the same. However, Bengal had constituted the West Bengal Transgender Persons Development Board in 2016, much ahead of the central Act, thanks to the visionary thinking of our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee," Panja said.

The Board was reconstituted in the year 2020 and apart from officials from the state administration, it comprise of transgender persons as members. Panja, the W&CD Minister is the Chairman.

The W&CD department has a state coordination committee for dealing with problems faced by the transgenders and sensitisation is carried out from time to time along with state police.

The department has written to Chief Electoral Officer of Bengal urging him to take special measures so that more transgender persons can become voters.The minister said that measures were taken for providing free ration to them through the state Food and Supplies department and also vaccination was ensured.