Economic Activity To Start After April 20 Without Flouting Lockdown Rules

India entered into the second phase of lockdown and the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday issued new guidelines to be followed till May 3rd. As per the MHA guidelines, restrictions will be relaxed on a few services after April 20 to mitigate the hardships faced by the people. There is an expectation that the restrictions are likely to be eased on roads, rural construction, and mining sectors. Two million workers in roads, rural construction and mining sectors have been identified.

The construction activities will be allowed in non-hotspot areas where there is no spread of coronavirus and will be implemented by states or UTs or District administrations with strict compliance to lockdown guidelines. Before allowing these select additional activities, the administrations of states/UTs/District shall ensure that all the preparatory arrangements with regard to the Standard Operating Procedures for social distancing in offices, workspaces, factories and establishments also other sectorial requirements are in place.

The PMO officials held video-conference meetings with district magistrates and asked them that they should be ready with a plan to resume identified economic activity from April 20 without flouting lockdown rules. After a high-level meeting of secretaries on Friday, it was decided to concentrate on construction activities outside the hotspot and containment zones.

The centre is sketching out a plan to encourage the states to resume the activities without compromising on health. The local administrations develop protocols to make sure that the economic activities will be resumed without violating social distancing norms. A week time was kept in hand until April 20th.

An official told that, “We are giving three key messages down the line. One, lockdown is still on, but some economic activity needs to start. Two, implement the new notification. And three, observe social distancing norms at work sites”.

The order from MHA reads that all the agricultural and horticultural activities like farming operations, agencies engaged in procurement of agriculture products, mandis operated by the APMC, etc, will be functional. The MNREGA works are allowed with strict implementation of social distancing and facemask.

Also Read: Looking Into Reports Coronavirus ‘Escaped’ From Wuhan Lab: Donald Trump