Curbs to stay in Maharashtra red zones

Two days after the Centre issued guidelines for the fourth phase of the lockdown which began on May 18, the Maharashtra government extended more relaxations to rural

Two days after the Centre issued guidelines for the fourth phase of the lockdown which began on May 18, the Maharashtra government extended more relaxations to rural and semi-urban areas, excluding them from the existing red zones. The existing orange and green zones are now ‘non-red zones’ and almost all activities in these areas have been opened up, state health minister Rajesh Tope said. While commercial and other activities are allowed in non-red zones, the restrictions imposed earlier will continue in red zones. The revised guidelines will come into existence from May 22.

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The earlier colour-coded classification of district-level red zones has now been changed to municipal corporation level, restricting it to urban areas. While 18 of the 27 municipal corporations are in the red zone, the remaining are in non-red or green and orange zones, where more commercial and industrial activities are allowed. During the third lockdown, between May 4 and 17, 14 districts were in red zones with greater restrictions on activities. The change in the policy has brought down the population percentage in these zones from 6,55,82,498 (population of 12 districts) to 2,90,79,892 (population of 18 corporations according to 2011 census.)

The 18 municipal corporations include nine from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Panvel, Mira-Bhayandar, Bhiwandi-Nizampur and Ulhasnagar), and Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Malegaon, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Akola and Amravati.

Red zones will continue to have stricter curbs, with only essential activities being allowed, besides a few non-essential activities, including a limited number of standalone shops, e-commerce of both essential and non-essential goods. Nagpur, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nanded-Waghala, Kolhapur, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwada, Latur, Ahmednagar,Chandrapur, Parbhani the corporations are in non-red zones. A few corporations including Dhule, Jalgaon, Akola and Amravati have been added to the red zone list because of the surge in the cases, while Pimpri-Chinchwad has been excluded due to containment of the spread.

Private offices will continue to remain shut in red zones, but will open in non-red zones. Government offices in red zones may operate at 5% staff and at full capacity in non-red zones. Containment zones are to be earmarked by municipal corporations and district collectors. It is mandatory for the district, civic authorities to consult with the chief secretary to earmark larger areas as the state wants containment zones restricted to only affected areas such as building, colony, mohalla.

Malls and industrial units, which are not allowed to operate in red zones, will be allowed to carry out their maintenance and monsoon-related upkeep by keeping them open.

“Industrial activities in non-red zones have been fully allowed, while other activities too are mostly been allowed. The curbs in red and containment zones will remain. People are expected to maintain the health protocols strictly in public and workplaces in the zones with relaxed curbs,” Tope said.

Based on the guidelines issued by the Centre on Sunday, the state has allowed sports complexes, stadia and public open spaces in non-red zones to operate, except for group activities and entry of spectators. Intra-district activities in these zones have been allowed with a maximum 50% of passengers. The state is expected to take a call on inter-district transportation in these zones in the next few days. Markets and shops in these areas have been allowed to operate between 9am and 5pm.

Liquor shops as well as non-essential shops have not been allowed in Mumbai. “Autorickshaw and taxi, aggregator services remain prohibited in red zones. Two- and four-wheelers are allowed only for essential services with the occupancy of 1 and 2+1 travellers respectively. Home delivery of essential, non-essential items by e-commerce services and food items by hotel and restaurants is allowed,” the order stated.

“Using the power given under the central guidelines, we have narrowed the areas of red zones and freed up more area, which are not much affected. These areas will have more commercial-industrial activities. Inter-state transport facilities are unlikely to be allowed until May 31,” said an official from the state government.