Trans People Can Register Themselves, Get Benefits: UP Government Plan

Noida: The Social Welfare Ministry of Uttar Pradesh has proposed a first of its kind voluntary registration for transgender people in the state, aimed at devising welfare measures for the marginalised community, according to official sources. The ministry has proposed a budget of Rs 200 crore for the welfare of transgender people by means of providing them education facilities, developing their colonies with basic amenities and rehabilitating elderly members of the community, the sources said.

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Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on April 18 directed state government officials to carry forward welfare measures for transgender people.

During his first tenure as chief minister, Adityanath had in 2021 formed the Transgender Welfare Board.

An estimated 20 lakh transgenders live across the state, with most of them having limited means of education and survival.

However, the first meeting of the board took place only on April 19 which was chaired by Social Welfare Minister Asim Arun. Board’s vice president Sonam Chishti and members Tina Maa, Kiran Baba, Madhu and Dr Satya Prakash Singh attended the meeting in Lucknow.

A budget of Rs 200 crore has been proposed for welfare and development of the transgender community in Uttar Pradesh, out of which around Rs 25 crore will be dedicated only for the education of youngsters of the community. A voluntary registration would be done to identify transgender people in the state and register them with unique identification cards so that they can avail benefits of government schemes. This would be done across 75 districts of UP and a database would be prepared, which would also be shared with the central government, a ministry source told PTI.

The ministry is also in the process of writing to other state departments concerned for expediting development works like proper roads, water and electricity connections, etc in colonies where the community members live.

It has also proposed setting up ‘Garima Grah’ (Dignity Home) in cities on lines of old-age homes for the elderly transgender people to help them lead a comfortable and dignified life, the source said.

After the Transgender Welfare Board’s meeting, the ministry is understood to have presented the proposals to the state government during a review by the chief minister last week, they said.

The date for beginning the registration will be decided after the government’s go-ahead.

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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity,  that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.