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Cabinet meeting: Capt rules out complete lockdown, announces phased opening of shops
Amarinder also ordered limiting of the number of teachers in government schools to 50%, with the rest taking online classes from home
Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh again ruled out a complete lockdown in the state and announced phased opening of shops after some of his cabinet colleagues said there was resentment among traders over selective closure of shops amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
The CM said restrictions currently in place in Punjab were more stringent than the lockdown conditions in many other states. The CM compared the Punjab restrictions with the curbs in place in Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala, among others, and pointed out that it was not necessary to impose a total lockdown.
Chairing a virtual cabinet meeting, Amarinder announced a series of relaxations, including phased opening of shops and various incentives for the housing sector, such as three-month extension in permission period for construction of plots/projects for allotments, whether private or allotted, by the state urban development authorities.
Earlier, cabinet ministers Manpreet Singh Badal, Tripat Bajwa and Bharat Bhushan Ashu said the shopkeepers, especially in urban areas, were upset about the selective shop shutdown as part of the restrictions imposed in the state. The CM said the objective of the closure had been to prevent crowding but phased opening could be worked out by district administrations.
Amarinder also ordered limiting of the number of teachers in government schools to 50%, with the rest taking online classes from home. He directed the state food department to prepare five lakh additional food packets for distribution among Covid patients, besides announcing additional 10kg atta (wheat flour) for 1.41 crore smart ration card beneficiaries. The food aid is in addition to the 1 lakh food kits, containing 10kg of atta, 2kg chana and 2kg sugar already sanctioned for the underprivileged Covid patients.
The CM said to meet the urgent needs of the people at the local level, the sarpanches have been authorised to spend up to ₹5,000 per day, subject to a maximum of ₹50,000, out of the panchayat funds for providing emergency relief by way of food and medicines to the poor.
All urban local bodies have also been empowered to provide emergency relief, including food and medicines, to the poor and needy from the municipal fund.
Taking cognisance of the problems resulting from the restrictions, the CM asked the social welfare department to release social security, pension amounts to ensure that the people do not suffer amid the current crisis.
Relief for housing sector, shopkeepers
For the housing sector, the CM directed all urban development authorities not to charge non-construction charges, extension fee and licence renewal fee for the period April 1 to July 31. Further, the urban development authorities have been asked to waive the interest to be charged on any delayed instalment, which was otherwise due between April 1 and July 31, provided that it is paid in equated monthly instalments after August 1.
Mohali has 25% positivity rate
Health secretary Hussan Lal informed the cabinet that 14 districts had positivity over 10% and six over 11%. Mohali tops the list with 25% positivity rate. The situation was grim with 70% of L2 beds (oxygen support) and over 80% L3 (ventilator support) beds in government and private hospitals occupied, the health secretary said, adding that with 10-30 patients needing a ventilator every day, things were not good.
The cabinet approved one-time relaxation in the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Rules, 1964, for transfer of 5 acres of panchayat land in Mohali to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for the establishment of the National Institute of Virology for North Zone. The Institute has been sanctioned by the central government on a proposal by the Punjab government.
The cabinet authorised the Mohali DC to complete formalities for transfer of the land in village Mullanpur Garibdas in Kharar block of Mohali district. Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan said construction for the institute would start by the end of this year.
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Thrust sector status for O2 production units
The cabinet announced thrust sector status for all oxygen product units, while appointing a nodal officer to coordinate with the customs department for quick clearance of foreign aid.
The CM said with the way things were going currently, the situation was likely to worsen in the coming days, with nobody knowing how many more waves of Covid would hit the country and the state.
The status will apply to oxygen production units with minimum capacity of 700 cylinders per day equivalent to 5 MT, oxygen cylinder manufacturers/fabricators, oxygen concentrator manufacturing units. Oxygen refilling units will not be covered by the special status.
With this decision, the units (both old and new) will become eligible for 100% exemption from the change of land use (CLU)/external development charges (EDC), property tax, electricity duty, stamp duty and investment subsidy, by way of reimbursement of GST up to 125% of fixed capital investment made in the land and machinery.
The cabinet was apprised that the daily oxygen allocation to Punjab stands at 195 MT and only 140 MT was actually being supplied on a daily basis, with shortage of tankers hampering lifting of oxygen, especially from Bokaro.
