Monday musings: Relaxations given, but has the MVA government learnt its lessons?

PUNE After a back-and-forth for over two weeks, Pune has been unlocked again with the rider that a rise in Covid positivity rate beyond 7% will result in all relaxations rolled back immediately without any notice

PUNE After a back-and-forth for over two weeks, Pune has been unlocked again with the rider that a rise in Covid positivity rate beyond 7% will result in all relaxations rolled back immediately without any notice. The announcement came on the day when Pune reported three cases of the Delta plus variant, known for spreading faster than other coronavirus variants.

Last week most shops on Laxmi road in Pune were open till 7pm in defiance of government’s 4pm deadline. The relaxations issued by MVA government exposes an inconsistency at the policy level. (RAVINDRA JOSHI/HT)

As part of relief from Monday, Pune, along with Pimpri-Chinchwad, will see timings for essential and non-essential services extended up to 8 pm, while hotels and restaurants can operate till 10pm. The most distinct element of this announcement by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar is that weekend lockdown has finally gone away.

This will be second time within two months that the government has had to relax restrictions that were brought back in July, days after the second wave waned, though the danger of the Delta-plus variant persisted.

However to be able to get relief, traders had to fought hard and resorted to defiance, keeping shops open past the stipulated deadline of 4pm for the past four days.

The entire issue could have been handled by the government in a much better way. It highlighted multiple things - starting with lack of coordination, shrugging off responsibility, and an inconsistency at the policy level.

Initially, citizens were told that the government will take a call, although health minister Rajesh Tope announced that chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will decide on relaxations for Maharashtra, based on a proposal sent in by his department. The proposal, however, considered Pune city as part of the district, even as the government’s previous orders clearly considered Pune, PCMC and the rural parts as three separate administrative units.

The government’s original directive, as Tope had explained, was areas with a positivity rate less than that of state average would get relief. This was not followed in the case of Pune city.

So when traders began a civil disobedience movement in Pune defying the 4pm deadline, the government changed tack saying that if the local administration recommends relief, the government will consider it. The government did not apply the same rules to Mumbai or other places where relaxations were given. This was a readymade issue for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to lap up and target the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

When asked, Ajit Pawar’s response to this was – anyone when asked about Pune should say the guardian minister will decide in consultation with CM. His response indicated one thing: Pawar asserted his position by sending the message to others that he will take the final call on Pune.

Three constituents (Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) form the MVA government, and it has adopted a specific working method with decisions related to Pune and rest of the western Maharashtra largely taken by Ajit Pawar, while the chief minister has largely remained silent about issues here. Even during the peak of Covid (Pune saw two peaks during the first and second wave), Thackeray visited the city only once.

The MVA also largely ignored its own notification related to different levels, the purpose of which was to offer relaxations or bring back curbs based on which level – between 1 to 5 –districts fall under. If the government is pro-decentralisation, why then it did not allow PMC to decide for itself, when the local body had recommended relaxations two week ago, and Pawar too, had agreed to it.

Finally, the confusion and delay resulted in discontent among citizens and the business community. The government realised this and offered relief. The responsibility now rests on shop keepers, business establishments and citizens to adhere to Covid appropriate behaviour.

Any laxity in following the norms can cost Pune dearly, especially when only 21 per cent of the population here has been vaccinated fully. At the current speed, it may take four more months for the district to vaccinate its population with both doses.

Yogesh Joshi can be contacted at yogesh.joshi@htlive.com