Citing a better condition of coronavirus cases in his state, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting more autonomy in regulating economic activities. Baghel requested immediate assistance of Rs 10,000 crore from the Centre to restart industries and other businesses, while reiterating his earlier request for financial assistance of Rs 30,000 crore to the state.
Baghel said, “Due to the long lockdown period, it has become difficult for lakhs of families in the state to manage economically.” On districts classification as green, orange and red zones, the CM said there are operational problems in the implementation. “As of now, economic activities are allowed in green zones only. If any cases are found in the green zones, we will have to stop the ongoing activities, which will lead to dissatisfaction and uncertainty. As of now, there is no clarity on whether the lockdown will continue post May 17,” he wrote.
“To stop this uncertainty, the propagation of economic activities while maintaining all precautions is needed. It would be right to give autonomy to state governments to run their own economic activities within the states,” the letter read.
Meanwhile, the state has reported 59 cases of COVID-19 out of which 16 are active and 43 have recovered.
The Congress government has sanctioned an amount of Rs 1 crore 20 lakh for 9 districts of the state for the prevention of coronavirus infection in the state. Rs 20 lakh has been sanctioned from the Chief Minister’s Assistance Fund for the prevention in Raipur district.