Ministries pitch plan to balance lives, livelihood

Demarcation of zones with different levels of restrictions on cards

NEWDELHI: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of striking a balance between lives and the world, the government intensified its effort to find the policy mix to implement this framework. This included the process of finalising guidelines to demarcate zones with different levels of restrictions, and restarting certain economic activities once the three-week lockdown ends on April 14.

Two Union ministers, a chief minister, two Niti Aayog officials, and two government bureaucrats who are a part of empowered committees dealing with various elements of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) said that the lockdown after Wednesday will be more calibrated than in the first phase.

The commerce ministry has also offered a specific road map, in a note to the home ministry, on sectors that can be opened up now and relaxations that should be introduced once a decision on the lockdown is taken. The letter was seen and reviewed by HT. It also mentioned that there have been a “lot of problems” in the movement of people and vehicles in sectors allowed by the government; this was followed up by a home ministry note to state governments, reiterating the need to enable movement which has been permitted.

The letter also proposed restarting big companies such as textiles, automobiles and electronic manufacturing with proper sanitation and distancing norms in place in sectors. It suggested restricting their capacities to 20-25% in a single shift to start with. It proposed allowing companies and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with export commitments to operate with minimal manpower and necessary movement of material; resumption of housing

construction activities provided labour stayed at the site; and listed out a range of industries such as heavy electrical items, fertiliser plants, all types of food and beverages plants, among others, which should be allowed to function on a single-shift basis.

To be sure, this detailed note is just a proposal — and is at the

level of an intra-government communication so far. No decision has been taken or announced on it.

India’s case tally stood at 9,191 on Sunday, including 326 deaths -- a rise of 811 positive cases since Saturday night.

A Union minister familiar with the decision-making process in government said that a decision on the lockdown, however, is likely to be announced only on April 14, after a highlevel meeting.

Summarising the government’s broad approach, Vinod Paul, member of Niti Aayog and co-chair of the empowered committee for Covid-19 response in India, said that there were three things to keep in mind when the lockdown eventually ends. The first, he said, was the realisation for each citizen that life was going to be different till a drug or a vaccine was found. “So we would have to continue with a new norm of social distancing in every phase of our life.”

The second factor was that the government would have to ensure that its hospitals and testing facilities were geared up to be more efficient. And the third factor was balancing “how much economic activity and vocational activity should be opened up without compromising the spread of the disease”.

One element of this balance appears to be the proposal to demarcate the country into three zones — red, orange and green, depending on the incidence of coronavirus cases in the specific geography. A bureaucrat, who is a member of an empowered committee, explained that red zones will define areas which have a high number of cases — they will include affected districts and containment zones, and the lockdown here will remain in place and enforced strictly. Orange

zones will be buffer areas which will see some relaxation but will be closely monitored; and green zones will include areas which have seen no incidence of the disease and where restrictions may be lifted substantially.

In a separate interview, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar confirmed that this option is close to being implemented.

“As the Prime Minister has indicated, we will have to move towards economic activity also, while taking utmost care of lockdown and social distancing.” Giving the example of his state, Khattar said this meant that four districts — Palwal, Nuh, Gurugram, Faridabad — will be categorised as “Covid hot spots” or “red zones”.

He underlined: “Lockdown will be enforced in red zone. In the green zone, small and medium industry will be allowed to start operations, provided the entrepreneur gives us an undertaking to fulfil the guidelines in letter and spirit. We want small industries to start their opera

tions at a somewhat lower capacity first. We will issue directions in this connection very shortly.”

This push for resumption of partial economic activity was also reflected in a letter to the home ministry by the secretary of department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) in the commerce ministry, Guruprasad Mohapatra, on Saturday.

It proposed opening certain activities with “reasonable safeguards” once a final decision regarding “extension and nature of lockdown” is taken by the Union government.

According to the proposal, the industries that would be allowed to operate must ensure a single entry points for workers, sufficient space for ensuring social distancing, use of separate transport for ferrying workers or stay arrangements in factory premises and high quality regular sanitisation of the premises. The local authorities must ensure strict observance of these conditions, it said.

It also asked the home ministry to reiterate and allow the free movement of individuals and material for sectors that have already been permitted to operate, claiming that a “lot of problems were being faced in this regard”.

Late in the evening on Saturday, the home secretary wrote to all chief secretaries reiterating the need to ensure intra and interstate transport of vehicles carrying cargo, movement of workers in essential services, functioning of cold storages and warehouses, among other measures.

IT ALSO ASKED THE HOME MINISTRY TO REITERATE AND ALLOW THE FREE MOVEMENT OF INDIVIDUALS AND MATERIAL FOR SECTORS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN PERMITTED TO