Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu & Kashmir Sets Up Transgender Welfare Board To Protect Minority Rights
|In an effort to protect the rights and interests of the minority population, the Jammu and Kashmir administration constituted a transgender welfare board on Tuesday. The initiative will further make government schemes and benefits accessible for LGBTQIA+ community members.
The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration on July 13 constituted a transgender welfare board to protect the interests and rights of the minority population in the Union Territory. According to government data, a total of 4,137 transgender people will be benefitted from this initiative.
As per the official circular, the state's chief secretary will head the 13-member committee responsible for monitoring and regulating the transgender welfare board. The official believes this initiative will bolster the development of the transgender community in Jammu and Kashmir.
Under this initiative, the accessibility of the minority population in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to government schemes and benefits will also increase. It will contribute towards equal distribution of government benefits among the total population of J&K.
The Principal Secretary (General Administration Department), Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, in his order issued under the directions of Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, said, "In terms of Clause 10 (1) of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020, the sanction is now accorded to constitution of Transgender Welfare Board for protection of rights and interests of transgender persons thereby facilitating their access to government schemes and welfare measures in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir," reported The Print.
As Transgender Welfare Board has been constituted in J&K the Govt must reveal whether four Non Official members belong to Transgender Community or Not ? Without them this Board can't function properly @manojsinha_ @OfficeOfLGJandK @socialwelfarejk pic.twitter.com/3ef0Do9MWR
— rtimuzaffar (@rtimuzaffar) July 13, 2022
The committee of 13 members headed by the chief secretary includes administrative secretaries of various departments, including finance, home, health, and medical education, social welfare department, school education department, department of law, justice and parliamentary affairs, Director general social welfare Kashmir, and director social welfare Jammu. Additionally, four prominent citizens from Jammu and Kashmir region are also part of the committee.
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