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Declare Covid a natural calamity: Thackeray writes to PM; seeks SDRF fund
In two separate letters on Wednesday, the CM has also sought air lifting of liquid oxygen and remdesivir injections to the state
Maharashtra chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray has written two letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him for his intervention to announce the Covid-19 pandemic as a natural calamity so that the poor people are given financial assistance from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). He has also demanded the arrangement for the airlifting of the liquid medical oxygen from other states and intervention for the availability of remdesivir injections from domestic manufacturers.
As mentioned in his virtual address to the state on Tuesday, Thackeray has requested the PM to notify the Covid-19 pandemic as a natural calamity under SDRF. This would enable the state government to pay Gratuitous Relief (GR) of ₹100 and ₹60 daily to the adult and minor members of the families notified under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority House Hold (PHH) during the lockdown. The notification of the pandemic as a natural calamity empowers the state government to extend such relief from the SDRF, which is around ₹4,300 crore. The Centre has also been requested to release the first instalment of SDRF at the earliest.
In the letters dated April 13, Thackeray has said in the wake of the potential demand of the liquid medical oxygen (LMO) is expected to go up to 2,000 metric ton (MT) by April end against the state’s installed capacity of production of 1,200MT a day, the Centre needs to immediately ensure airlifting of the LMO from other states. “We are thankful to the Government of India for mapping state demand to steel plants in eastern and southern India, but the lifting of it from far off areas is time-consuming and also invokes disruption risks. We, therefore, request you to press in NDMA and also arrange for the airlifting of it,” the letter has stated.
Maharashtra chief secretary Sitaram Kunte said that the state government has arranged for the logistic for the transportation of the oxygen, but they fear the disruption enroute because of the lockdowns in many states. “We require 25,000 MT oxygen till April end and the shortfall considering the domestic manufacturing of about 18000 MT is over 7500 MT. The central government has arranged for it from other states, but the plants are far off and may take days to transport the stock to Maharashtra,” he said.
The letters said that at the present rate of infection, the active cases in the state are expected to reach 1.19 million by end of April end from a current number of 0.56 million, which is 88% more than the peak of the first wave in September last year in the state.
He has also requested the Centre to grant a compulsory licence under section 92 of the Indian Patents Act 1970 to facilitate the manufacturing units of the Remdsivir injections to produce and sell it in the domestic market. The Centre has banned the export of the Remdesivir injection recently.
Thackeray has also requested the PM for his intervention for the deferment of the instalment of the loans taken by the small scale industries, businesses, startups. “The loans by such small units have been taken under different schemes of the Central government under the Atmanirbhar Bharat drive. Though the sector has not been restricted in the lockdown, the contraction in their demand is evident. The banks, in such scenario, should be requested to defer the instalments becoming due in the first quarter of the current financial year without accruing interest on the loans,” the letter states.
The letter has also demanded that the deadline for filing the GST for the small and medium taxpayers should be extended by three months.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Prasad Lad said that Thackeray has no right to demand anything from prime minister Modiji as he has done everything possible for the country. “On the other hand, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has failed on every front as far as the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic is concerned. The CM has raised demands with the prime minister but when it comes to the failure of the state government, they start blaming the Centre. The Modi government has arranged for the oxygen for Maharashtra, now the state government wants the stock to be lifted by the Centre and delivered. Why state cannot take responsibility for the transportation,” he said.
