BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday sought a national standard operating procedure (SOP) to reboot economic activities post lockdown. He also batted for greater involvement of Panchayati Raj institutions in Covid management in the states.
“To reboot the economic activities, the Union Government may come up with a national SOP as our production lines and value addition process, cutting across state boundaries are interlinked,” the CM suggested during the video conference meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A national SOP will bring forth an unified response in rebooting the economy, he stressed.
The CM also maintained that there should be broad principles at the national level as regards lockdown and other regulations. However, there should be decentralised implementation of guidelines and other regulations by the local administration. A smaller, scientific unit can replace district as unit for zoning and the local administration should be allowed to decide the area.
In view of return of thousands of migrants to the State, he suggested that the Centre should modify existing schemes to incentivise and actively involve panchayatraj institutions in Covid management. “As the fight is going to be long, it is important that we involve panchayats for a system-based response,” he said.Referring to the railway movements to start today, he said this should be regulated in consultation with states as being done for stranded persons.
Record 4,213 cases in 24 hrs
New Delhi : With a record 4,213 fresh coronavirus cases in 24 hours, India’s total case count climbed to 67,152 on Monday morning. Ninety-seven deaths were recorded during the period. The national toll now stands at 2,206.