With the third phase of the lockdown ending today, and the country getting set to enter lockdown 4.0, greater relaxations and flexibility are expected. The states and Union Territories are expected to get the lion's share of the decision-making abilities, including the capability to define hotspots. In his previous video conference with chief ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was of the firm view that the measures needed in the first three phases of lockdown were not needed in the fourth, and asked the states to come up with a roadmap by May 15 on how to deal with various aspects of the gradual easing of the lockdown.
The guideline announcements are expected today. Home Minister Amit Shah, in his North Block office, held meetings with top officials of the ministry, including Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla.
What are the expected announcements?
It is expected that there will be gradual reopening of railways and domestic airlines.
Schools, colleges, malls and cinema halls will not be allowed to open anywhere in the country, but salons, barber shops and optical shops may be allowed in red zones, barring COVID-19 containment areas.
There could be lots of relaxations and flexibility in the lockdown 4.0 with complete reopening of the green zones, very limited curb in orange zones and strict restrictions only in the containment areas of red zones.
What did the states say?
Among the opinions of the different state governments, the only constant was that none of them wanted the lockdown lifted.
States that want extension of lockdown: Punjab, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Assam, Bihar and Telangana wanted the lockdown to be continued at least till the end of the month. The Mizoram government on Friday announced it was extending the lockdown till May 31. Maharashtra, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths from the virus, wanted strict lockdown measures to continue in Mumbai Metropolitan Region(MMR), Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad and Malegaon till May 31 and the complete stoppage of inter-state and inter-district transport of any kind. Maharashtra accounts for nearly 28,000 coronavirus cases to top the countrywide tally which stood at around 82,500.
States that want rail, air traffic suspended: The Bihar government urged the Centre to continue the lockdown besides keeping rail and air traffic, other than the 'Shramik Special' trains for migrant labourers and evacuation flights, suspended during the period. Apart from Bihar, states like Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka were not in favour of complete resumption of train and air services, at least till May end.
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States that want to reopen economies: Tamil Nadu is inclined to further ease curbs to pep up the economy. Gujarat, with the third highest number of COVID-19 cases, rooted for resumption of economic activities in major urban centres. "If we keep people away from their jobs and professions, it will prove catastrophic for them and their families. Even state's economic condition will deteriorate if this situation persists," said Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. "Economic activity is also important. Now, people cannot afford to sit at home fearing coronavirus. Our government is also of the same opinion."
States which are in favour of opening up of economic activities include Delhi, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Kerala sought industrial and commercial activities to be allowed in rural and urban areas except in containment zones, opening of domestic air service, intra-state passenger trains and metro rail services, though it was not keen for inter-state railway services at present. It has also suggested intra-district bus service with limited number of passengers and strict health protocols, including social distancing.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, while urging Prime Minister Modi not to open state boundaries for the next few months and called for stopping inter-state transportation, except for migrants or essential services, favoured allowing all e-commerce activities and opening of hotels, but not restaurants and bars.
