Yogi Govt gives inheritance rights to ancestral and agricultural land to third gender

In yet another decision towards the empowerment and restoring the dignity of third gender, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath amended a law that will allow transgender people of the state to inherit ancestral agricultural land, the Times of India reported.

The UP Cabinet cleared an amendment to the UP Revenue Code of 2006, removing the limitations of nomenclature in inheritance laws which categorically made mention of ‘sons’, ‘daughters’, ‘married’, ‘unmarried’ and ‘widow’ as ones who would rightfully inherit such ancestral lands.

The State Law Commission in March 2019, had submitted a proposal for a law to acknowledge the right to the inheritance of the “third gender” to the Yogi government. The Commission’s chairperson, Justice AN Mittal, had pointed out that all the inheritance laws left out the people of the third gender.

Now people of the third gender can hold the succession and physical rights to the property.

Other measures taken by Yogi Adityanath for the empowerment of third gender

Prior to this, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced the country’s first university for transgender community at Kushinagar district where members of the community can pursue education from class 1 to postgraduation and even do research and get a Ph.D. The university will be located in Fazilnagar block of Kushinagar district and is being built by Akhil Bhartiya Kinnar Siksha Seva Trust (All-India Transgender Education Service Trust.).

In June 2020, the Uttar Pradesh government had taken an initiative to provide employment to transgender community by dedicating Noida’s Sector 50 metro station to the community.