NEW DELHI: Two empowered committees will look into the implementation of exits from lockdown by states to ensure that only areas designated as hotspots continue with the stringent restrictions, government officials said.
“The guidelines issued by the central government are very clear, and categorically say that these guidelines shouldn’t be diluted by state/UT authorities,” an official told ET.
Of the two, one is headed by secretary of department of drinking water and sanitation P Iyer and is overseeing facilitating supply chain and logistics management and for availability of necessary items such as food and medicines; and the other is the committee on public grievances & suggestions headed by Amit Khare, secretary, ministry of human resource development, which is looking into any problems pertaining to exit from lockdown.
“Meanwhile, control rooms in the department of commerce and DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) will also be open for the industry to flag any problems faced by them,” the official added.
Also, even states have set up control rooms and are expected to keep a very close watch on opening up business establishments.
The guidelines for gradual exit, which kick-in from April 20, state that the lockdown will apply for ‘hotspots’, which are areas with significant Covid-19 exposure as declared by the ministry of health and family welfare. However, standard operating procedures will have to be strictly adhered to in areas which exit the lockdown.
However, the industry is concerned over the implementation of exit as it will rest with the state authorities, say executives. Allowing workers passes to go to factories and seamless movement of interstate freight are some of the concerns of the industry.
Source: indiatimes.com
