Ensure Bollywood production houses set up internal complaints committee: Maneka to Maha govt

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi today asked the Maharashtra government to ensure that Bollywood production houses set up an internal complaints committee to provide safe workplace for women.

Gandhi said yesterday that seven Bollywood production houses have accepted her request to form panels to deal with cases of sexual harassment, and urged 17 others to follow their lead.

She also urged the production houses to submit a report about the internal complaints committee set up by them.

During the national conference with the state ministers of the Ministry of Women and Child Development today, Gandhi urged Maharashtra minister Pankaja Gopinath Munde to ensure that internal complaints committee are set up in all Bollywood production houses.

Last year, Gandhi had asked Bollywood filmmakers to comply with the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act, 2013, and set up committees to hear complaints.

She had written to 24 production houses, including actor Shahrukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment, Karan Johar's Dharma Production, to form an anti-sexual harassment cell.

Citing a media report, Gandhi said that it was encouraging that seven production houses have accepted her request and complied with the sexual harassment law.

"I expect the other producers to ensure similar compliance at the earliest," she said.

According to the media report cited by her, the seven production houses that have formed a sexual harassment committee are Yashraj Films, Aamir Khan Production, Mukta Arts, Excel Entertainment, Phantom Films, T-Series and Drishyam Films.

"As responsible employers, all are obliged to follow the law of the land. I urge the Bollywood production houses to do so and submit a report on the internal complaints committee set up by them. Together, we need to ensure a safe workplace for our women," Gandhi said.

The ministry has said Bollywood filmmakers are ethically and legally accountable for safety of not only their direct employees but also of all outsourced and temporary staff as well.

It mandated that all workplaces with more than 10 employees to set up an internal complaints committee.

The conference was attended by the ministers from states of Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur.

The remaining states were represented by the secretary-level and other high-level officers of the state WCD department.