Allow districts with high economic activity to resume all industrial and commercial operations: IIC



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NEW DELHI: Districts with substantial economic activity should be allowed to resume all industrial and commercial operations with the highest security protocols so that businesses remain financially sustainable while preventing job losses, the CII said Sunday.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (IIC) requested that the financial contribution of the districts be taken into account when classifying the block zones.
Districts with high economic activity should resume all industrial and commercial operations, including in containment areas with the highest security protocols, the IIC said in its report entitled “A strategy note on the resumption of economic activities in industrial areas”, submitted to the government.
The government notification of May 1 allowed industrial estates, special economic zones (SEZs) and industrial municipalities with restricted entry into urban red zones to begin operating.
The industry body said that all industrial units, including unreported industrial areas and independent units, must operate in urban areas. These should also include non-essential goods and services.
It has been recommended that nearby nearby areas can be classified as orange zones where industrial activity can be continued with strict precautionary measures and monitoring.
The distinction between essential and non-essential elements should be removed and all factories should be allowed to restart, according to IIC.
“The third phase of the blockade requires a focused strategy to minimize the economic contraction due to COVID-19, without compromising efforts to control contagion. Prioritizing districts with a strong presence of economic and industrial activities with continuous operations accompanied by the strictest precautions can help companies remain financially sustainable while avoiding job losses, “said IIC Director General Chandrajit Banerjee.
While the prolonged blockade in the country, required by the rapid spread of COVID-19, has helped control the spread of the epidemic and given us time to increase medical capacity, it has also caused enormous stress on the financial sustainability of many companies, the camera said.
The IIC has requested that the main districts be identified based on variables such as their contribution to the country’s GDP, or the presence of industrial estates and groups, or the registration of companies in a district.
Rather than the current practice of classifying the entire district as a red zone, IIC has suggested the need to classify zones as Containment, Orange, and Green within an industrial district.
Economic activities, to varying degrees of relaxation, should be allowed in all areas of those districts, but health and safety protocols would differ from area to area, the camera suggested.
He said the containment area can be a street, mohalla or factory building where positive cases have been detected.
In containment zones, industrial units where there are no positive cases may be allowed to operate if workers can be restricted to the facility or within a walkable distance, according to the IIC note. Raw materials and finished products should be disinfected and kept separate for 72 hours before use, as permitted by health authorities.
Maximum precautions and safety measures in the form of masks, repeated sanitation, restricted movement of people and vehicles, and group tests, among others, can be carried out regularly in these containment areas, CII said.
“Aggressive measures are required to ensure that an industrial district goes from Red to Orange and Green within 21 days. The cost of taking precautionary measures through repeated sanitation, use of PPE, masks, monitoring, group testing, etc. will be very high. less than economic loss if companies in such high-performing districts have to stay closed longer, “Banerjee said.
IIC also called for limited public transportation to work to allow self-employed workers to reach industrial areas.
Green areas within an industrial district, on the other hand, should be able to work with relaxed restrictions but strictly following health and safety protocols prescribed by health authorities.
There must be real-time data availability on all types of areas within industrial districts. Authorities can also provide updated information on the Aarogya Setu app, other apps, local newspapers, radio, television and online channels, according to the camera.
It also prescribed standard operating procedures for offices, workplaces, factories and establishments before resuming operations.
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