Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has reconstituted the State Transgender Welfare Board, signalling a shift towards a more administration-driven framework while retaining community representation.
Under the revised structure, the Chief Secretary will chair the board, replacing the earlier system in which the concerned minister held the position. The Secretary of the Department of Social Empowerment and Persons with Disabilities (SEPD) has been designated as Vice-Chairperson, while the Director of the department will serve as Member Secretary.
The new composition also includes an Additional Secretary from the Director General of Police (DGP) office as a member, indicating a stronger institutional linkage with law enforcement and internal administration.
Importantly, the reconstituted board continues to include voices from the transgender community. Among the members are Dipti Mahapatra, the state’s first transgender person to earn a doctorate, and transgender rights activist Soumya Das. The board will also have representation from civil society organisations, including the Transgender Protection Trust in Bhubaneswar and Chetana Organisation in Balugaon.
At the district level, the Collectors of Bolangir, Angul, and Khordha will serve as members on a rotational basis, a move aimed at improving grassroots coordination and policy implementation.
The board was originally constituted on May 15, 2025, with a three-year tenure under the chairmanship of the departmental minister. Its reconstitution within a year points to a strategic recalibration by the state government, potentially aimed at enhancing administrative efficiency, inter-departmental coordination, and the delivery of welfare measures for the transgender community.
The restructuring comes at a time when states across India are revisiting institutional mechanisms to align with the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and to strengthen targeted welfare interventions.
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