Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). (Image: Social Media)
Warangal: The Centre has instructed the rural development and panchayat raj departments to include transgenders under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme and to issue them job cards, enabling them to lead a respectable life in society.
Unable to secure employment in their places of residence, many transgenders migrate to other areas, leaving their parents in villages and facing numerous challenges.
There are 499 transgenders in the erstwhile Warangal district, while 184 are in Karimnagar.
The government stated that job cards must be issued to them based on their Aadhaar cards wherever they enroll their names for work.
If a large number of transgenders are present in a village, they should be organised into a group for work allotment; otherwise, as per their preference, they must be assigned work along with others. A nodal officer should be deployed at mandal or district levels to resolve their issues.
Rathika, a transgender speaking to Deccan Chronicle, said that people in their community want to lead a decent life by taking up all kinds of work if society allows them to do so. However, many are forced to beg as they do not find employment in shops or companies.
K. Harish, the APO of the NREGA scheme, stated that officials will first identify the number of transgenders present in a village or mandal. Job cards will be issued to those who wish to work under MGNREGA.
At workplaces, all necessary measures, including required facilities, will be taken. Awareness will be created among the public to prevent discrimination against transgenders at their workplaces, he added.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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