Many a time, the Assam government has been found to have been caught unawares by new or the latest guidelines issued by the union Ministry of Home Affairs with regard to the different aspects of the lockdown relaxation.
India is currently following a 40-day lockdown period due to the coronavirus pandemic. Initially, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a 21-day lockdown till 14th April. However, on the morning of 14th April, the PM further extended the lockdown by another 19 days.
During the lockdown period people have been facing various issues, be it financial crisis, unavailability of services, continued closure of offices and institutions, shops and establishments etc.
As such the union government has been issuing directives of step-by-step relaxation in many sectors and relief to the people keeping the containment of the coronavirus (and so social distancing norms) as top priority.
However, for some of these orders issued by the central government, the people of the state have been left utter confusion as the state government sought time to implement, discard or issue clarifications on them on time.
Although the orders of the union government are considered to super cede state government directives during emergencies, the orders under current circumstances may vary from state-to-state given the effect of the pandemic. Health Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma has also been regularly mentioning that Assam would be following the guidelines of lockdown as ordered by the central government.
So who do the citizens of the state follow?
Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued an order regarding the reopening of private establishments after April 20. Union Minister, Ravi Shankar even tweeted about the same along with illustrated creatives on 18th April, listing the various commercial and private establishments that were exempted from further lockdown.
People were left in confusion on the same, as businessmen & traders jumped on the idea of resuming work. They have been left without any regular earnings and financial aid during the lockdown but their bills have been mounting nevertheless.
The Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam, Kumar Sanjay Krishna, thereafter, in clarification and given local conditions, presented the state’s order with a detailed list of the establishments that were allowed to operate only on the evening of 20th of April.
In another instance, the Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development issued a notification on 15th April regarding the payment of school fees and staff salaries. The notification stated that educational institutions were not to collect fees during the lockdown period and the same was to be informed to the parents and guardians of students via mails and messages. Also the teachers and staff members of all institutions were to be paid their regular salaries and dues without pay-cut. The notification clearly mentioned that the chief secretaries of all states and union territories were sent a copy of the same.
However, Krishna, talking to G Plus on 17th April, said that no instructions regarding the monetary issues of educational institutions have been sent to him. As such no comments were made.
State health minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, issued a detailed ordered regarding the same during a press meet on 22nd April, wherein the educational institutions were asked to waive fees by 50 percent for the month of March and April, but to pay regular salaries to staff.
Further, while the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had issued an order on 24th April, wherein all neighborhood shops, standalone shops, and shops inside the residential complexes and market complexes, except shopping malls were permitted to open business, people were again left confused and some even opened stores on the morning of 25th April. Later, the Chief Secretary informed that no relaxation has been given on the ongoing lockdown by the government of Assam like opening of shops, beauty parlours etc.
DIPR Assam also tweeted that a decision on the same will be taken by the government of Assam on the 27th of April.
The above instances have left the people of the state in utter confusion throughout Lockdown-2.0 and every time the same has been addressed by the state government to the contrary of the Centre’s directives. Such instances have also led people to question the lack of coordination between the Assam government and the Centre.
The natural question that arises is: “What makes the state government give a re-thinking to implement the Centre’s orders in the state? Is the Central government not coordinating with States before issuing such guidelines?”
