DDMA seeks Centre’s help for protocols on inter-state travel curbs

The issue was taken up at DDMA’s meeting on July 9. The records of the meeting were finalised on July 20 and HT has seen the related documents

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has sought the Centre’s help in chalking out protocols for appropriate restrictions on inter-state travel, citing the spread of the Delta plus variant of Covid-19 in some states and the high positivity rate in the country’s North-East. The issue was taken up at DDMA’s meeting on July 9. The records of the meeting were finalised on July 20 and HT has seen the related documents.

A health worker collects a swab sample from a passenger near Anand Vihar ISBT in New Delhi. (HT archive)

Niti Aayog member (health) V K Paul, who attended the meeting, suggested the Delhi government consult the Centre before imposing restrictions on inter-state travel, according to the records.

Lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, the chairperson of DDMA, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the vice-chairperson of DDMA, and chief secretary Vijay Dev, the executive head of the DDMA, also attended the meeting.

According to the documents, Dev referred to reports of detection of the Delta plus variant in at least 12 states. The states are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, and Haryana.

Dev also highlighted the high-positivity rate in the eight North-East states. Most states in the region are under a hard lockdown or strict curfew restrictions. Among districts in India currently recording a positivity rate higher than 10%, nine are in Manipur, five each in Meghalaya and Mizoram, three each in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Sikkim, two in Tripura and one in Assam.

“Delhi, being (the) capital of the country, is visited by people from all across India. In view of this, the guidance of experts is needed on what kind of measures are needed in Delhi to prevent the spread of Delta Plus variant cases. He (Dev) recalled that some restrictive measures were imposed in Delhi such as carrying of negative RT-PCR reports for the people coming from Andhra (Pradesh), Telangana and Maharashtra,” said one of the documents.

The positivity rate in Delhi currently is less than 0.10% compared to 36% on April 22.

The documents said Baijal suggested that an advisory by the Union health ministry will be appropriate.

“...Paul suggested that the advice of the government of India should be taken before imposing any restrictions on the movement of inter-state travel as Delhi being capital of the country,” said the minutes of the meeting.

Balram Bhargava, the director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Samiran Panda, a scientist at ICMR, Randeep Guleria, director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Sujit Kumar Singh of National Centre for Disease Control and Krishna Vatsa, member of National Disaster Management Authority also attended the meeting.

Currently, there are no restrictions on inter-state travel to, from, and through Delhi. For brief periods, conditions such as mandatory negative RT-PCR test reports were imposed for arrivals from some states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. During the nationwide lockdown last year, the Union government imposed a complete ban on inter-state travel for over two months.