Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesdayagain ruled out a complete lockdown, noting that the restrictions currently inplace were more stringent than the lockdown conditions in many other states,and announced a series of relaxations and relief measures to alleviate the woesof various sections of the people amid the prolonged crisis.
The relaxations include phased opening of shops, andvarious incentives for the housing sector, including 3-month extension inpermission period of construction of plots/projects for allotments, whetherprivate or allotted, by state urban development authorities.
Amid spiralling Covid cases, the Chief Minister orderedlimiting of the number of teachers in government schools to 50%, with the resttaking online classes from home.
He also directed the Food Department to prepare 5 lakhadditional food packets for distribution among Covid patients, to ensure thatevery patient individually gets a packet even where there are more than onepatient in a family. The state government has also announced additional 10 kgAtta for 1.41 crore Smart Ration Card beneficiaries. The food aid is in addition to the 1 lakh food kits,containing 10 Kg Atta, 2 Kg Chana and 2 Kg sugar already sanctioned for allpoor people testing positive with Covid. It is also additional to the food aidannounced by the Government of India.
Virtually chairing a cabinet meeting, the Chief Ministercompared the Punjab restrictions with the curbs in place in states like Delhi,Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala, among others, and pointed out that it wasnot necessary to impose a total lockdown.
The Chief Minister said to meet immediate and urgent needsof the people at the local level, it had been decided by the government toauthorize Sarpanches to spend up to Rs. 5,000 per day, subject to a maximum ofRs 50,000, out of Panchayat Funds for providing emergency relief by way of food& medicines to the poor and needy in the villages. All Urban Local Bodieshave also been empowered to provide emergency relief, including food andmedicines to the poor and needy, from the Municipal Fund.
Taking cognizance of the problems resulting from therestrictions, the Chief Minister asked the Social Welfare Department toimmediate release social security / pension amounts to ensure that the peopledo not suffer further amid the current crisis.
For the Housing sector, apart from the permissionextension, the Chief Minister has directed all Urban Development Authoritiesnot to charge non-construction charges/extension fee/license renewal fee forthe period 1st April – 31st July 2021.
Further, Urban Development Authorities have been asked towaive the interest to be charged on any delayed Instalment, which was otherwisedue between 1st April – 31st July 2021, provided that it is paid in equatedmonthly instalments after 1st August, 2021.
Taking note of the resentment among shopkeepers overselective closure of shops, the Chief Minister asked district administrationofficials to work out the phased shop reopening plan for their respectivedistricts. Earlier, several cabinet ministers raised the issue of theresentment over selective closure of shops. Manpreet Badal, Tripat Bajwa andBharat Bhushan Ashu, said the shopkeepers, especially in urban areas, wereupset about the selective shop shutdown as part of the restrictions imposed inthe state. The Chief Minister said the objective of the closure had been toprevent crowding but phased opening could be worked out by districtadministrations.