After social welfare benefits, Odisha extends jobs to transgenders

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Aug 1:

After earning the distinction of being the first state in the country to provide social welfare benefits to transgender people, the Odisha government is all set to recruit persons from third gender as warders in various prisons across the state.

In line with the directive of Supreme Court, the state government has decided to recruit transgenders. For this, the state police have informed the Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC) for recruitment of transgenders as jail waders.

“Transgenders will be doing duty in jails as warders. For this, they will have to succeed in the qualifying examination with other candidates. A letter to this effect has been sent to the Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission to take necessary steps in this regard,” ADG (Prisons) Manoranjan Patnaik informed.

Notably, Deputy Secretary in Home Department BB Mishra on July 27 this year had written to ADG-cum-IG of Prisons and Department of Correctional Service (DCS) seeking clarification on inclusion of the transgenders as a gender category in recruitment of jail warders by keeping their physical standards at par with women candidates as per the observation of the Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD).

Besides, he had urged the ADG to furnish the above clarification to OSSSC so as to expedite the process of recruitment of jail warders by stipulating the same physical standards for candidates under third gender category as prescribed for women candidates.

It may be recalled that the apex court had asked the Centre to treat transgender as socially and economically backward and be allowed admission in educational institutions and given employment on the basis that they belonged to the third gender category.

The SC had ruled that the third gender people will be considered as OBCs.

It is worth mentioning here that prior to Odisha, Bihar had announced reservation in jobs to the third gender and set up Bihar Rajya Kalyan Board, earlier in March this year.