Coronavirus: MHA issues fresh guidelines on lockdown exemption

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 17

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday announced new guidlines covering additional  activities which will remain exempted from the ongoing lockdown.

In a bid to ease of the tribal and rural population the government issued an order exempting work related to no-timber minor forest produce and plantation and harvesting of Bamboo, Coconut and Spices.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla in his order in the capacity of being the chairman of the national executive committee under National Disaster Management Act said, the government “hereby orders to include the following in the consolidated revised guidelines issued on April 15, 2020 for strict implementation by Ministries/Departments of the government of India, states/Union Territory Governments and all other authorities”.

The Home Secretary said activities permitted include “collection, harvesting and processing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP), Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) by Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers in the forest area”.

Similarly, he also asked the authorities to allow activities relating to “Bamboo, Coconut, Arecanut, Coca, spices plantation and their harvesting, processing, sale and marketing”

Further to ease the flow of liquidity (money) in the rural market and also to support small businesses the government has permitted the opening of Non-Banking financial institutions (NBFCs) including Housing Finance Companies and Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs) with minimum staff. Cooperative Credit Societies are also allowed to function, the order said.

Construction activities in rural areas, water supply, sanitation, laying/erection of power transmission lines, laying of telecom optical fiber and cable have also been exempted from the lockdown.