Officers to address transgender grievances in Odisha

Odisha government has planned to appoint special officers to deal with the complaints of the transgender community in a bid to end harassment and hassle-free services in government offices.

Bhubaneswar (Odisha): The Odisha Government has decided to designate special officers to deal with the complaints of the transgender community in a bid to end harassment and hassle-free service in government offices.

Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities has written to the Secretaries of all the Departments under the State government to designate a Complaint Officer in all offices under their respective department.

"Section 11 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 mandates that all establishments shall designate a complaint officer to look into complaints relating to the violation of the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, you are therefore requested to intimate all the establishments under your administrative control for designating Complain Officers and submit a copy of the same to this Department for information and records," the letter read.

"The Act was enacted by the Parliament in November 2019 prohibits discrimination against Transgender Community in employment, education, housing, healthcare and other services.

The Act allows self-perception of gender identity, but it mandates that person would have to be recognized as "transgender" on the basis of a certificate of identity issued by District Magistrate," according to the letter.

ANI Report