Toshi Tiwari
The country received the first set of lockdown guidelines for the containment of COVID-19 epidemic in the country on March 24 under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, invoked for the first time in the country.
The union home ministry has issued fresh national guidelines on lockdown measures till May 3 identifying selective activities that will be allowed from 20th April 2020. The order issued by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has also stated that the states will decide the additional public activities to be allowed from April 20. The union home ministry has specified that the additional facilities will be based on strict compliance to the existing guidelines on lockdown measures.
The consolidated revised guidelines would not apply in containment zones, as demarcated by States, UTs and district administrations. If any new area is included in the category of a containment zone, the activities allowed in that area till the time of its categorization as a containment zone, would be suspended, except for those activities that are specifically permitted under the guidelines of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
The revised 2.0 guidelines say that travel by air, public buses, rail, metro, taxis, cab aggregators will continue to remain suspended. Also, cinema theatres, malls will remain shut. In fact, all social, religious gathering will continue to remain prohibited and all industrial and commercial units, unless exempted will remain closed.
However, exemptions have been given for industries operating in rural areas, outside the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities, while observing norms of social distancing, sanitation and hygiene.
The new guidelines also indicate that manufacturing and other industrial establishments with access control in special economic zones (SEZs), industrial estates, export oriented units (EoUs), and industrial townships will have to make arrangements for the stay of workers within their premises as far as possible.
In fact the guidelines also stated that the transportation of workers to work place will have to be arranged by the employers in dedicated transport by ensuring social distancing.
The new guidelines for lockdown 2.0 have given some relief to the MSME sector. Construction activities including roads, irrigation projects, buildings and all kinds of industrial projects for MSMEs have been permitted in rural areas.
Meanwhile, places or construction sites within the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities, where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside have only been allowed to carry out activities, as per union home ministry guidelines.
The fresh guidelines have also made medical insurance mandatory for factories and office establishments that will be allowed to operate during the lockdown period. Also, the work units have been directed to encourage use of staircase, staggering of work hours to ensure social distancing and entry of non-essential visitors to be banned.
On the other hand, all agriculture, horticulture and allied services will remain functional along with services provided by IT repairs, electrician, plumber, motor mechanics and carpenters.
