To recognise transgenders as the third sex and address all their grievances, the West Bengal government has decided to set up a separate welfare board for them.

State Minister for Women and Social Welfare Dr Shashi Panja told reporters in Kolkata on Tuesday that they were going to set up a separate welfare board for transgenders under her department. She said that to protect the rights of the transgenders, the government is drawing up a plan with the help of NGOs working on the issue.

"We will begin by ascertaining the number of people belonging to the third gender and will then provide them with the required health facilities," the minister said.

Once the board starts functioning, people belonging to transgender community will be given identification cards and will be entitled to government schemes like Indira Awas Yojna, government grants, ration cards, health services and other such facilities, she said.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had ruled that the transgender community must be recognised as the third sex in all government documents and even get reservation under OBC category. Although no records are available, it is roughly estimated that the transgender population in West Bengal is around 5-6 lakh.

Ranjita Sinha who leads the Association of Transgender/Hijra in Bengal (ATHB) told PTI that the biggest issue for them is identity. "We want identity and recognition as the third sex. Setting up a board for us is extremely important. We want entitlement to all our basic human rights," the activist said.