MUMBAI: Amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in India, the Government of India is planning on extending the nationwide lockdown. However, the government is also trying to sustain the economy during the lockdown period and planning on ways to kick-start the economy in the post-lockdown period. Given this, the Government of Maharashtra is planning on dividing the state into red, orange and green zones, based on the number of Covid-19 positive cases in an area. Rajesh Tope, Minister of Health, Government of Maharashtra, said that the division based on the number of Covid-19 cases could be done to identify areas where economic activities can be resumed. He further said that this would also help the state government in imposing different rules in different areas based on the type of region they fall in.
Green zones would be areas where no Covid-19 cases have been reported so far. Orange zones would be in areas where there have been less than 15 positive Covid-19 cases and red zones would be areas where more than 15 cases have been reported. According to Tope, Bhandara, Gadhchiroli, Chandrapur, Wardha, Parbhani, Nanded, Nandurbar, and Solapur districts have recorded no cases and could fall in the green zone. Amravati, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Satara, Osmanabad, Hingoli, Jalna, Washim, Beed, Dhule, Gondhiya, Yavatmal districts can come under the orange zone, where certain activities, including opening up of minimum public transport, etc, could be allowed. Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Aurangabad, Pune, Sangli, Nashik, Ahmednagar and Raigad districts would be in the red zone, as they have a high number of cases. As of April 11, Mumbai, MMR, Pune have 91% of the Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra.
The state government would start a limited number of industrial activities and minimal state transport facilities in the orange and green zones and extend the lockdown with stricter restrictions in the red zones. However, the state government has not taken any decisions on the division of the state into zones yet as it is still awaiting guidelines from the Centre as to what can and cannot be allowed in different zones.
The relief and rehabilitation and the industries departments of the Government of Maharashtra are chalking out plans on a proposal to allow the functioning of micro, small and medium industries in the green and orange zones provided they continue to follow social distancing. The large industries may also be allowed to resume production, only if they follow safe practices and social distancing and carry out regular basic medical checks on their employees.