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Chief ministers, especially from states governed by the non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are likely to seek interstate transportation for migrant workers, an increase in their borrowing capacity and head to offer work for food when the First Minister Narendra Modi have a meet with them via video conference on Monday.
This will be the third such meeting to seek views from top ministers on how to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and whether the blockade imposed to control its spread should continue beyond May 3.
Most chief ministers want the closure to be lifted in 370 districts unaffected by Covid, despite differences persisting on how the restrictions should be applied in the remaining areas affected by the pandemic.
Karnataka Prime Minister BS Yediyurappa and his Andhra counterpart YSR Jagan Mohan Reddy want the closure to be limited to containment areas and their buffer zones and not entire districts. Others, like Maharashtra and Delhi’s chief ministers, Uddhav Thackeray and Arvind Kejriwal, don’t want to relax on the rules in Covid-19 affected districts.
Officials in most states governed by BJP said they would follow the Center’s instructions on the shutdown.
In several states, officials said the chief ministers will present detailed proposals on the revival of the economy and seek an economic stimulus for small and medium-scale industries. The reopening of industries is seen as an important step in addressing the growing concern about unemployment among migrant workers.
Distress calls for migrant workers have been reduced in states where industries have reopened after the Center’s conditional permission to reopen them in rural areas outside of the Covid-19 zones after the extension of the closure until May 3. “In Assam, where industrial activities began on April 20, calls to bring migrants back have dropped,” said a Bihar government official on condition of anonymity.
Chief ministers from Rajasthan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are expected to seek relaxation on interstate transportation to allow stranded migrant workers to return home.
“Every time the blockade is lifted, there should be a definitive plan for migrants, perhaps through special trains so that they can be tracked, examined and quarantined accordingly,” said the Bihar official.
Rajasthan Prime Minister Ashok Gehlot has also sought special trains to bring workers back to their state.
Officials in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Haryana said they will seek additional relaxation for industries, including voluntary accommodation for workers on site and allowing them to run multiple shifts.
Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu are likely to demand the reopening of automotive supply chains, as well as showrooms. Officials in West Bengal and Bihar said they are likely to seek a full resumption of work in the tobacco industry as it employs around 15 million women. Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh want the information technology industry to function fully in non-Covid-19 regions with hygiene and social distancing standards in force.
States are expected to pose the problem of worsening financial conditions. Punjab Prime Minister Amarinder Singh is likely to seek release of the arrears of the state goods and services tax worth Rs.4.4 billion over the past four months and also provisional compensation of Rs.3 billion by April, said a state government official.
Bihar Prime Minister Nitish Kumar has sought to implement the Finance Commission’s recommendation to grant 42% of central taxes to states compared to 41%. The commission had reduced financing to the states, citing an expected growth of 7% of GDP for the current fiscal.
Telangana Prime Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said Thursday that the Center needs to help the state financially. “I will ask PM to trust the states by making changes in monetary policy and deferring the payment of loans taken by state governments,” said Rao. He insisted that the Center must relax the rules of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management to increase the debt limits of the states.
An Andhra government official said Reddy will raise the issue of reducing central tax refunds imposed by April and seek compensation for the same. He added that the state has lost revenue of around Rs 15,000 crore in March and April.
Authorities said Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are likely to demand food to work under Mahatma Gandhi’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Kerala is expected to seek flights to bring back around two million expatriates, mainly from West Asia. The state will also request a special financial package, a Kerala government spokesman said.
Several top ministers are expected to raise the issue of a shortage of personal protective equipment and test kits. “Our Prime Minister [Mamta Banerjee] will raise the issue of the lack of faulty test kits and rapid test kits … “said a West Bengal official, who declined to be identified.
