Food, migrants on govt panel agenda One list of essential goods for all states
NEWDELHI: Hassle-free movement of food, dairy products, and other essential goods and a close watch on the movement of migrant workers— these are the main areas where the senior bureaucracy sees need for urgent intervention, as 1.3 billion Indians continue to stay under a federal lockdown.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed 10 empowered group of secretaries to monitor different aspects of the situation arising out of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The groups, empowered to take decisions, meet every day to take stock of the unfolding ground situation.
During their internal discussions on Wednesday, many bureaucrats found several complaints about non-compliance of the government’s order on movement of food and dairy products. According to a senior official who is a member of one of the committees, continued “production and seamless supply of food items right to the neighbourhood level holds the key to the success of the lockdown.”
According to an official, the issue related to the supply of food is significant and PM Modi is expected to take it up in his video conference with state chief ministers scheduled for Thursday.
On Wednesday, the supply of essential commodities also came up during the video conference between cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba and the chief secretaries of the states. A press release issued subsequently said: “The manufacturing of essential goods should be ensured. It should also be ensured that the supply chains of such goods are maintained.”
The government also wants to keep a tab on the movement of migrants and will ask panchayats to inform local police about the return of any workers or if anyone shows symptoms of Covid-19. The rural development ministry has sent a letter to the states, asking them to involve gram panchayats in the identification of a migrants and any anyone showing symptoms.
There is also a proposal before to further increase the duties on petrol and diesel. “The final call on this issue will be taken by the finance ministry,”said a secretary-level officer.
Former rural development secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra said, “I hope these groups are getting feedback from the ground and not relying only on what officials are feeding them from the states. . The government also needs to come up with a plan regarding the crop harvesting season that starts mid-april.”
NEW DELHI: The Centre is in the process of issuing a comprehensive, indicative list of what constitutes essential commodities and services to all states and union territories to iron out supply chain disruptions caused by the lockdown to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, an official who serves on an interministerial team overlooking coordination with states said, requesting not to be quoted.
The list aims to bring interstate parity of what constitutes essentials, the official said. The list of essential items and transportation norms have been found to vary across states, which tends to clog supplies and spark shortages, the official added.
Currently, all states have exempted transportation of medical supplies, food, pharmaceutical raw materials, including for masks and sanitisers, and petroleum products from the lockdown, the official explained.
However, a review meeting with states showed that some are regulating transportation of supplies according to their own norms which are being enforced by district collectors or magitrates. The review found “bottlenecks” in inter-state coordination. For instance, a state that doesn’t recognise a particular item as an essential item may not allow entry of the item originating in another state.
“To streamline these bottlenecks, an indicative list of essential items and services will be sent out to states. The transport ministry will also take steps to bring uniformity in land transportation norms,” the official said. The government is looking to amend rules to the Essential Commodities Act to streamline supplies.
The list is likely to contain about two dozen “primary goods and articles” which refers mainly to unprocessed agricultural and food items. Coastal and fish consuming states will be urged to allow movement of fish, currently highly regulated in eastern states. The list will also include categories of semi-processed and fully processed items because food processing industry already has been categorised as essential.