Red, yellow, green: Zones may be coded to lift curbs

Demarcations to be on basis of Covid-19 cases reported in a region

MUMBAI/JAIPUR: States across the country plan to divide their respective regions into red, yellow and green zones based on high, limited and no cases of Covid-19 for easing the lockdown imposed to check the pandemic and submit their plans to the Centre for framing a uniform policy for the next phase of curbs expected to start from Wednesday, multiple officials said on Sunday.

The national lockdown is due to end on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indicated the restrictions will continue in some form to save lives through enforcement of social distancing but with some relaxations to resume economic activity and preserve livelihoods. National guidelines are expected on what activities can be allowed and areas to be exempted from the extended lockdown.

The officials cited above said on condition of anonymity that they were working on details of activities that can be allowed in green and orange zones. To provide relief to migrant workers stranded in different states, the state governments are working on allowing operation of certain small and medium enterprises in green and orange zones. Carpenters, plumbers, and barbers are expected to be allowed to resume work but with social distancing norms in place. There is a proposal to allow those factories to reopen, where staff work and stay with strict social distancing norms and proper sanitization.

“We cannot keep businesses shut and choke the economy. From lockdown, we can go to lock-in by having lesser people,” said a Maharashtra government official who did not want to be named. “It is not always a conveyor belt system in production and component processing can be segregated, while integration can happen in one place. All options are being studied,” the official added. All states are likely to allow crop harvest from April 15. States like Punjab will provide on-farm procurement facilities while Madhya Pradesh is creating block level markets, where only 10 to 15 farmers will be allowed to sell their produce. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh plan to buy max produce from farmers through district authorities.

“Procurement of harvested crops will start at the local level for which special markets should be created,” said Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday told officials that farmers should be encouraged to sell their produce at their farms or villages and travel to markets should be minimized. Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said the state could be divided into red, orange and green zones depending on the number of cases. Districts, where there are no cases, will come under the green zone, those with up to 15 cases will fall under the orange zone, and districts having over 15 cases under red zone, he said. Tope said Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Aurangabad, Pune, Sangli, Nashik, Ahmednagar and Raigad districts would fall under the red zone. Districts like Amravati, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Satara, Osmanabad, Hingoli, Jalna, Washim, Beed, Dhule, Gondhiya and Yavatmal wll be in yellow zones and rest in green.