Cuttack, Oct. 3: Orissa High Court has ordered speedy implementation of the Supreme Court direction for treating transgenders as socially and economically backward in the state.

The court issued the direction on a public interest litigation seeking intervention against the alleged inaction of the state government in carrying out the direction issued by the apex court 17 months ago.

Cuttack resident Satyabhama Rath, 38, filed the PIL, alleging that the state government was yet to treat transgenders as socially and economically backward and extend to them all kinds of reservation in case of admission in educational institutions and public appointments in the OBC category.

"Despite the Supreme Court directions, the transgender community in the state continues to suffer discrimination, social and economic exclusion," the petitioner had said.

The PIL had come up on Monday. Since the lawyers had abstained from work that day, the petitioner appeared in person.

"Taking note of her arguments, the division bench of Chief Justice D.H. Waghela and Justice Biswanath Rath disposed of the petition with a direction to the secretary of the department of social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities and health secretary to implement the Supreme Court order as expeditiously as possible," petitioner counsel Saroj Kumar Padhy said today.

In a landmark judgment on April 15, 2014, the Supreme Court created the "third gender" status for transgenders, who had earlier been forced to write male or female against their gender.

The Supreme Court asked the Centre to treat transgenders as socially and economically backward and consider them as OBCs for educational and employment opportunities. The apex court, in its judgment on a PIL filed by the National Legal Services Authority, also expected the states and the Centre to devise social welfare schemes, build public toilets and look into their special medical issues.

Officials in the department of social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities had last month formed a state-level committee for transgenders in the state to sort out issues related to a survey about them, their identification, social security cover and issue of identity cards.

The state government had also decided to implement five sub-schemes. The department, which has drafted a proposal for recognition of transgenders and provide them with certificates as third genders, will implement the sub-schemes.

The parents of every transgender will get a financial assistance of Rs 1,000 a month. For pre-matric scholarship (Class VIII-X) the day scholar will get a monthly Rs 150 and boarders Rs 350 for 10 months every year. Also, the transgender students will get monthly post-matric scholarship of (Class XI and above) of Rs 550 for day scholar and Rs 1,200 for boarders for 10 months in a year. For their skill development, Rs 15,000 will be given per transgender trainee for 200 hours of the course. There will be 30 trainees in each batch. The trainee will get a stipend of Rs 1,000 a month. They will get subsidy linked to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh loan to be an entrepreneur. There will also be pension schemes for transgenders at Rs 1,000 per month, an official said.