The Odisha government on Friday decided to include transgender community under the ambit of its social welfare scheme — Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY) — and give them a monthly subsistence. The scheme aims at providing financial assistance to the destitute elderly and destitute differently-abled persons in the state.

Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) minister Ashok Panda told The Telegraph: “In its election manifesto, our party BJD has promised to cover the transgender community under the social pension scheme. Now the chief minister has given its nod to the department’s proposal to cover the community under the pension scheme.”

According to the government estimation, nearly 4000 transgender persons will get benefit of it. The allowance amount will vary from Rs 500 to Rs 900 per month keeping the age group into consideration.

“We have already allocated the funds and it will be soon released to their accounts,” Panda said.

Welcoming the decision, Meera Parida, prominent transgender leader, said, “Members of our community are passing through hardtimes. Even if it’s a little money, it would be a great help for them. The government should involve the members of community in execution of different welfare programmes.”

The state government has so far involved the members of the group in tax collection in Bhubaneswar and handed over the operation and maintenance of four septage treatment plants in Cuttack.

Officials maintained that beneficiaries of Madhu Babu Pension scheme in Odisha would soon receive another installment as financial assistance. Officials maintained that as many as 48 lakh beneficiaries of the state have been covered under the scheme.

Covid test: The government on Friday fixed Rs 2,200 as the price for conducting the RT-PCR test to detect Covid-19 in private labs in the state, according to a notification, adds PTI. The government also named four private laboratories, approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research, where the tests can be conducted.