Govt caps movement passes for industry workers, to be issued on first-cum-first-serve basis

The power to approve passes rests with three different committees in a district headed, each by sub divisional magistrate (SDM), additional deputy commissioner (ADC) and commissioner Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and deputy commissioner (DC), for permission of movement to industry owners, on a first-cum-first-serve basis.

The industry and commerce department of Haryana has now capped the number of passes to be issued by local administrations for industry workers by issuing a fresh set of instructions on Monday. The additional guidelines were issued a day after the government had released a standard operating procedure (SOP), allowing industrial and other establishments in the state to apply on the SARAL portal for permission to resume factory operations after a gap of almost four weeks due to nationwide lockdown.

According to industry owners, capping of approval passes in the district is a clear indication that the government does not want to grant permissions to all industries at the same time during lockdown till May 3. (Yogendra Kumar/HT file photo)

The power to approve passes rests with three different committees in a district headed, each by sub divisional magistrate (SDM), additional deputy commissioner (ADC) and commissioner Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and deputy commissioner (DC), for permission of movement to industry owners, on a first-cum-first-serve basis.

“Initially, permissions will be granted by the committees on a first-cum-first-serve basis restricting the total number of industrial workers/employees as per given the instructions,” said the letter from the department.

First category is for industries applying for passes for up to 25 persons.

“An SDM-level committee shall grant permissions to a maximum of 1,000 persons per block in rural areas and 1,000 persons per town in urban areas in their jurisdiction in the first phase,” said the letter.

The second category is for industries applying for 25 to 200 persons.

In this category, the ADC as well as the commissioner of concerned civic bodies shall grant permissions to a maximum of 2,000 persons each in their jurisdictions in the first phase.

The third category comprises approval of passes for industries applying for more than 200 persons and concerned DC can grant permissions to a maximum of 3,000 persons in the district in the first phase.

The letter, however, does not say what it means by “first phase”.

TVSN Prasad, additional chief secretary, industry department, Haryana, said, “This is a lockdown period and the government has to ensure movements remain under control of local administration, which is why the approval passes have been capped. As things move forward and the situation improves, the local administration will take a call as per the prevailing situation and allow more industries.”

After the SOP was issued, many industry owners in Gurugram expressed concerns over clauses such as FIRs for violations and two years’ imprisonment to the industry owner in case an employee gets infected with Covid-19.

According to industry owners, capping of approval passes in the district is a clear indication that the government does not want to grant permissions to all industries at the same time during lockdown till May 3.

“There was no point in capping approval passes. There is also no clarity on how long the first phase will last. There are many concerns and we have written to the Haryana government over the same,” said Deepak Maini, an industrialist.