E-Paper
Maharashtra govt not in favour of allowing all shops to open till May 3
According to the officials from the state government, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is of the opinion that lifting of restriction may further jeopardise social distancing and lead to a rise in cases.
The Maharashtra government has decided not to extend the relaxation given to shops and establishments from the ongoing lockdown even after it was announced by the Central government via a notification on Friday. Amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra has decided to stick to the current curbs till May 3.
State health minister Rajesh Tope said the state government was not extending the relaxations to shops and establishments. “The Centre has issued the notification allowing standalone shops in rural and urban areas, but in the absence of a similar notification in Maharashtra, it will not come into effect. It is the prerogative of the state
government to decide on the lockdown. Maharashtra government is not in favour of allowing establishments to operate till May 3,” he said.
Tope, however, said that the relaxation from lockdown is expected to be discussed during a meeting between PM Narendra Modi and chief ministers of states on Monday.
According to the officials from the state government, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is of the opinion that lifting of restriction may further jeopardise social distancing and lead to a rise in cases. “Even if we extend the relaxation and allow stand-alone shops to operate, the police and revenue machinery will be engaged in implementing the lockdown orders to a great extent. Secondly shortfall of raw material and manpower will continue to persist until the lockdown is not lifted completely. Against this backdrop, the state government has decided to continue with the complete lockdown for one more week,” an official from Mantralaya said.
The official said that the state can impose stricter norms than specified by the Centre under the Disaster Management Act, but cannot give more relaxations than that ordered by the Centre. “This was the reason why we had to withdraw our last week’s order of allowing sweet and snacks like farsan shops within two days,” he said.
Tope had earlier said that the after the second phase of the lockdown ending on May 3, it may be extended by two weeks till May 18 for MMR and Pune where the positive cases are highest. On Saturday evening, he said, “The decision about the extension in MMR and Pune is yet to be taken. The activities within the district with tag of green zones can be allowed through,” he said.