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New Delhi: States across India were divided Saturday over the union home ministry’s fresh order allowing some shops to start functioning, a decision that is part of a strategy to ease the country out of the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown.

While Delhi was a “reluctant supporter”, Haryana, Odisha and Nagaland said they would implement the order. There was no word from the Maharashtra government, and Assam said it would take a call by Monday.

In a late-night order issued Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) allowed all shops registered under the ‘Shops & Establishment Act’ in different states and union territories to open. However, a final decision in the matter was left to states.

“Though the order has been passed by the MHA, it is for the state governments to decide which shops they can let open, depending upon the Covid-19 situation in their states,” an MHA official told ThePrint.

According to the order, the shops that can resume business include the ones located in residential complexes and neighbourhoods, besides standalone establishments. The directive didn’t apply to liquor shops, which are registered under the Excise Act, and malls and market complexes haven’t been allowed to open either.

“This can be considered as a step forward to relax the nationwide lockdown. The order pertains to shops dealing in automobile repair, phone recharge, garments, besides electricians and the like,” the MHA official said.

“The lockdown will be lifted only in phases. Since business of shopkeepers was suffering the most (on account of the lockdown), this decision was taken,” the official added.

The shops that do open will have to comply with Covid-19 prevention guidelines. They will operate at only 50 per cent of worker strength, with all employees mandated to wear masks and adhere to social distancing norms.

The order is not applicable in containment zones and hotspot areas.

Also read: India would have seen over 1 lakh cases without lockdown: Covid-19 panel head VK Paul

MHA clarifies

To MHA order had initially created a lot of confusion about the nature of shops that will be allowed to resume operations, which led the ministry to issue a set of clarifications Saturday.

The ministry said the order pertained to nearly all shops, except those in malls or in containment zones.

“This will include small neighbourhood shops and inside residential complexes, the ones engaged with selling of non-essential goods as well,” the aforementioned MHA official said.

It was also clarified that e-commerce purchases remain restricted to essential goods, which means you can’t start ordering clothes online just yet.

Sale of liquor and pan masala, gutka continue to be prohibited as well.

Also read: When lockdown ends, these steps are key because delaying Covid spike isn’t flattening it

States to decide

The order drew a mixed response from states as worries continue about the spread of coronavirus in India.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said Saturday evening that restrictions in the state won’t be relaxed until 3 May, when the second phase of the nationwide lockdown expires. Maharashtra has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country.

Since Chandigarh is a containment zone, it will not implement the order, union territory adviser Manoj Parida said.

The West Bengal government was yet to issue any order in this regard as of Saturday evening. However, the state has already allowed neighbourhood grocery stores, sweetmeat shops and flower shops to operate for restricted hours.

The Assam government said it would take a decision by Monday. “There has been no relaxation in the ongoing lockdown regulations yet and the government has not taken any decision on the opening of shops, beauty parlours etc,” Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna was quoted as saying by PTI.

Sources in the Delhi government said Saturday evening that the national capital will implement the MHA’s guidelines. The government, the sources added, was not in favour of the guidelines, but was forced to relent after many shops started operations in light of the MHA directive. “Reverting to status quo was difficult,” one of the sources said.

Nagaland has also implemented the order, as has Odisha. In Madhya Pradesh, some shops opened after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reportedly spoke to collectors about the MHA order. News agency PTI quoted a state official as saying that “the CM is expected to issue unified guidelines in connection with the MHA order to end any confusion that might be prevailing”.

Punjab, which has been under a strict Covid-19 curfew since 23 March, was yet to take a call on the matter.

Haryana chief secretary Keshni Anand Arora told ThePrint that the state government would follow the directive of the the MHA. “It is clear that markets and marketplaces will not be open… only neighbourhood and residential shops will open and tiny shops in rural areas catering to local needs will be opened,” she said.

Karnataka has yet to take a decision on the order. Kerala has jumped on board, but Tamil Nadu and Telangana remain under a strict lockdown. Tamil Nadu has barred even grocery shops from opening between Sunday and Wednesday, while Telangana has decided to continue the lockdown until 3 May.

With inputs from PTI

Also read: ‘Shops won’t even sell us water’ — Kerala’s ambulance staff on Covid duty battle prejudice

This report has been updated with additional information. An earlier version of the report said Karnataka had agreed to implement the order, but it has yet to take a decision.

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