Itanagar, Aug 26: The Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society (APWWS) has expressed serious concerns regarding the Miss Arunachal event, which has come under scrutiny for issues affecting the safety, dignity, and fair treatment of Miss Arunachal  participants and support staff. 
The APWWS has  urged the Directorate of Youth Affairs to take immediate action to resolve the critical issues and uphold the principles of fairness and respect in state-sponsored events.
A team  today called on the Director of Youth Affairs, Ramesh Linggi regarding the issue  and sought  detailed information about the organisation and management of the event.
The Director informed that the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, under the Chief Minister’s Talent Hunt initiative, aims to provide platforms for youth to showcase their talents. In 2019, the Miss Arunachal event was officially recognized as a state calendar event, with an initial allocation of Rs 40,00,000 (Forty Lakhs). This amount was later increased to Rs 80,00,000 (Eighty Lakhs) to better support the event at the request of the organizers.
The  Director further confirmed that Rs 10,00,000 (Ten Lakhs) was disbursed in October 2023 to the Arunachal Guild for Cultural Integration which was meant for disbursement to former Miss Arunachal Tengam Celine Koyu and others. The money wasn’t disbursed. Koyu has come forward to say that her incentives have not been paid to her.
The APWWS team also sought clarification on the guidelines for incentive disbursement. The Director clarified that no NOC (No Objection Certificate) is required for the disbursement of incentives, and these funds are not connected to the grant-in-aid for the annual Miss Arunachal event. He added that his department had received a letter from the event organizers indicating that any incentives should be released through the apex organization (Miss Arunachal Event). He further clarified that while a recommendation is needed to authenticate the claims, an NOC is not compulsory.
The APWWS raised concerns about the absence of a clause in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to protect participants from harassment or exploitation. The Director assured the team that such a clause would be included in future MoUs. The team also expressed concern for participants who independently represent the state in reputable and recognised national events. They emphasized that making a recommendation from a particular organization compulsory for releasing incentives could lead to manipulation and harassment. Therefore, the Department should establish clear guidelines, it said.
The team also raised concerns regarding non constitution of Internal Complaint Committees as per the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, to prevent any kind of sexual exploitation. They suggested that a lady nodal officer from the department should be appointed as the chairperson of such internal committees for such women related state events.
In light of these discussions, APWWS has urged the Directorate of Youth Affairs to take immediate action to address the issues. 
The women’s body has sought the prompt release of pending incentives to Tengam Celine Koyu, Former Miss Arunachal, and Tana Punya, Former Femina Miss India participant. Additionally, the Directorate has been asked to direct the organizers to settle the payment issues of Dado Pana, Makeup Artist. The significant delay in these payments has caused considerable distress and is viewed as a form of workplace harassment, the APWWS said.
The Directorate has also been asked to initiate an impartial inquiry into the allegations against the event’s organizers; constitution of a dedicated monitoring committee  to oversee the conduct and safety of all state-sponsored women’s events; implementing Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and establishing clear guidelines to streamline the process. The APWWS also called for streamlining state events to avoid mismanagement and ensure protection of participants.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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