Maha: Housing scheme proposed for transgender

Pune: The Social Welfare Department of the Maharashtra government has proposed an affordable housing scheme for the transgender community, a senior official said.

Transgender persons often find it difficult to buy or rent house in good locality because of stigma attached to their gender identity, hence the scheme would be helpful, he said.

Under the proposed scheme, around 150 flats of 450 sq feet each will be offered in a dedicated housing complex in Nagpur city for the transgender community.

"The Nagpur Improvement Trust has ready flats available. It has agreed to sell them to us. Using the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) funds and taking rest of the funding from the state government, we will make these flats available to the transgender community. They will own these flats," said Dr Prashant Narnaware, Commissioner, Social Welfare.

If approved, this will be the first dedicated housing scheme for the community in the state, he added.

A proposal was received from the NIT, and Social Welfare department said it will purchase the ready building, he said. AGENCIES