Patna, Sept. 9: The cabinet today decided to recognise kinnar/kothi/hijra/transgender (eunuch) as “third gender”.

The cabinet gave its nod to the general administration department’s proposal to declare them (kinnar/ kothi/ hijra/ transgender) as backward class annexure II category, cabinet secretariat department’s principal secretary Brajesh Mehrotra told reporters here.

The state government’s move to put them in back- ward class annexure II category would provide them quota benefit for availing or getting government jobs, he said.

In a judgment delivered on April 14, the Supreme Court created the “third gender” status for hijras or transgender.

The court had asked the Centre to treat transgender as socially and economically backward.

The apex court said the transgender would be allowed admission to educational institutions and given employment on the basis that they belonged to the third gender category. They would be considered as OBCs, the judgment said.

While passing the order on a PIL filed by National Legal Services Authority (Nalsa) urging the court to give separate identity to transgender by recognising them as third category of gender, the apex court, in its judgement, said absence of law recognising hijras as third gender could not be continued as a ground to discriminate them in availing equal opportunities in education and employment.

In another decision, the cabinet gave its nod to increase the stipend for persons doing internship in all the disciplines in government medical, dental, ayurvedic, homoeopathic, unani colleges. The health department’s proposal to increase scholarships for interns would incur an additional annual financial burden of Rs 4.15 crore on the state’s excheque.

The amount of scholarship would be increased from Rs 7,000 to Rs 12,000 per month for persons doing intern- ship in all the disciplines in government medical, dental, ayurvedic, homoeopathic, unani colleges, Mehrotra said.

“We have been demanding for Rs 17,000 as stipend for interns as neighbouring Bengal and other states are giving the same amount (as stipend),” said a Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) MBBS intern wishing anonymity.

Health department official sources put the number of MMBS interns around 450. This excludes the number of interns of dental, ayurvedic, homoeopathic, unani colleges.

The cabinet also gave its nod to home (special) department’s proposal to extend the term of judicial commission making an inquiry into the Bhagalpur Communal Riot cases of 1989 for another six months. It also decided to extend all the benefits and facilities to the Jain community as minorities.