Centre asks states not to stop inter-state movement of persons/goods
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Saturday wrote to the governments of all states and union territories, reminding them that there shall be no restrictions on the inter-state and intra-state movement of goods and persons. Bhalla referred to the central government guidelines for unlocking from the coronavirus lockdown, Unlock 3.0, to state that such restrictions were barred. Here are more details.
Restrictions impacting economic activity, employment: Bhalla
In his letter to state/UT governments, Bhalla noted that district-level officials in a number of states are imposing movement restrictions. He said that such restrictions are impacting supply chains, thus affecting economic activity and employment. Referring to paragraph five of the Unlock 3.0 guidelines, he said that no separate permission or e-permit was required for the movement of persons or goods.
Bhalla warned against continued restrictions
In the letter, Bhalla asked state and UT governments to remove any restrictions on the movement of goods and persons, asking them to ensure that the central guidelines are followed. He further said that the imposition of such restrictions would be considered a violation of the Union Home Ministry guidelines issued under relevant portions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
Inter-state and intra-state movement was restricted under initial lockdown
The Centre had imposed restrictions on the movement of persons and goods as part of the nationwide coronavirus lockdown in late-March. In May, the government started gradually easing the restrictions, allowing movement within and between states. However, there has been confusion regarding the guidelines as people and commercial operators remained unsure about the rules, the quarantine protocol, whether any permits would be required, etc.
How bad is the outbreak in India?
According to the Union Health Ministry, until 8 am on Saturday, India reported a total of 29,75,701 COVID-19 cases. This makes India the world's third worst-hit nation after the United States and Brazil. The total tally includes 55,794 deaths, 6,97,330 active cases, and 22,22,577 recoveries. The Ministry's Saturday update showed that India saw a record spike of 69,878 cases in the past 24 hours.
