Covid-19: In key video conference with PM Modi, what could be on states’ wish list

india

Updated: Apr 24, 2020 21:41 IST

Chief ministers, especially of non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states, are likely to discuss inter-state transport of migrant labourers, an increase in their borrowing capacity and food for work programmes when Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets them through video-conference on Monday.

This will be the third such meeting between the Prime Minister and the chief ministers. While the meeting will deal with the Covid-19 pandemic in general, one of the main items on the agenda is likely to be whether the lockdown imposed to check its spread should continue beyond May 3.

Most chief ministers want the lockdown to be lifted in districts not affected by the pandemic, even as differences remain on how the curbs should be enforced in the remaining areas.

Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa and his Andhra counterpart, YSR Jagan Mohan Reddy, want the lockdown to be restricted to the containment areas and their buffer zones and not entire districts. Others like Maharashtra and Delhi chief ministers, Uddhav Thackeray and Arvind Kejriwal, want no relaxation in norms in entire Covid-19 affected districts.

Officials in most BJP-ruled states said they will follow the Centre’s directions on the lockdown.

Across multiple states, officials said chief ministers would submit detailed proposals on reviving the economy at the meeting and seek economic stimulus for small and medium scale industries. Reopening of industries is seen as an important step in dealing with the growing concern over joblessness among migrant workers.

Distress calls from migrant workers have reduced in states where industries have reopened after the Centre’s conditional permission for reopening them in rural areas outside the Covid-19 zones following the extension of the lockdown until May 3. “In Assam, where industrial activities started from April 20, the calls for bringing back migrants have fallen,” a Bihar government official said on condition of anonymity.

Chief ministers of Rajasthan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are expected to seek relaxation on interstate transport for allowing stranded migrant labourers to return home.

“Whenever the lockdown is lifted, there will have to be a definite plan for the migrants, maybe through special trains so that they can be tracked, screened and quarantined accordingly,” the Bihar official said.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has also sought special trains for bringing back workers to his state.

Officials in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Haryana said they will seek additional relaxations for factories including making in-situ lodging for workers voluntary and allowing them to run in multiple shifts.

Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu are likely to demand the reopening of automobile sector supply chains as well as showrooms. Officials in West Bengal and Bihar said they are likely to seek 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 fully function in non-Covid-19 regions with social distancing and hygiene norms in place.

The states are expected to raise the issue of their worsening financial condition. Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh is likely to seek the release of the state’s Goods and Services Tax arrears worth Rs 4,400 crore for the last four months and also an interim compensation of Rs 3,000 crore for April, said a state government official.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has sought implementation of the Finance Commission’s recommendation of giving 42% of the Central taxes to the states as against 41%. The commission reduced the funding to states citing slower than expected for the current fiscal.

Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday said the Centre needs to help the state financially. “I will request the PM to take states into confidence while making changes in the monetary policy and defer payment of loans taken by the state governments,” Rao said. He insisted the Centre must relax the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management rules to increase the borrowing limits of the states.

An Andhra government official said Reddy too will raise the issue of a cut in central tax devolution for April and seek compensation for the same. He added the state has lost revenue of about Rs 15,000 crore in March and April.

Officials said Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are likely to demand food for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Kerala is expected to seek flights to bring back around two million expatriates, mostly from West Asia. The state will also ask for a special financial package, said a Kerala government spokesperson.

Several chief ministers are expected to raise the issue of the shortage of personal protective equipment and testing kits. “Our chief minister [Mamta Banerjee] will raise the issue of not enough testing kits and faulty rapid testing kits...,” said a West Bengal official, who did not want to be named.