Chief Minister Hemant Soren today said that final decision on lockdown extension will be taken by the Prime Minister, although the State government will also review the decision and take its decision by May 17.
“I have already said that when migrant labourers will come, infection will increase. Now, migrant workers are coming and infection rate is also increasing a bit, but we are recovering very fast. Our recovery rate is about 50 per cent and the national recovery rate is about 30 per cent. If this situation persists then we will surely come out of this infection. And, after reviewing the situation we will take decision on State level,” said the CM.
“Several states have requested to extend the lockdown but the PM is the leader of the nation and his decision if final. We will take into account the guidelines of the Centre on May 17 and act appropriately,” he added.
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the Chief Ministers of the states through video conferencing about how to prevent further infection of Coronavirus and how to take a further step towards lockdown. What are the concessions that should be given? All the states should prepare a road map before 15 May and send it to the Central government so that the Central government can formulate a strategy for the fourth phase of lock-down, as suggested by the states. He also asked the states to change the lock-down to red zone, orange zone or green zone according to the circumstances of their state and take decisions.
CM Hemant Soren said that the Jharkhand government has been following the advisory issued by the Central Government regarding the Corona crisis and lockdown, and the State Government will follow the decision taken by the Center in the future. Soren said that in this difficult time of Corona crisis, saving the lives of people is top priority. However, financial strength is also very important.
“In such a situation, we have to come forward to execute the work by creating a balance between life and livelihood. In this Central government's cooperation is expected. The recovery rate from Corona in Jharkhand has reached 50 per cent,” he said.
The CM said that special emphasis should be laid on implementing MGNREGA schemes to make migrant labourers connected with employment. He urged the Prime Minister to increase MGNREGA budget and man-day creation by 50 per cent and wage rate of MNREGA. He said that by giving preference to MGNREGA, it will help a lot to strengthen the rural economy. Soren said that mining work is very important in Jharkhand. This state gets a lot of revenue from mining. In such a time, in this era of Corona crisis, the tax collection system should be changed slightly so that the State can recover revenue on account of its resources. This will improve the financial condition of the states. The CM urged the Prime Minister to give GST amount as well.
The CM said that the challenges of the States are increasing due to the return of the migrant labourers. The biggest challenge is to provide them employment. In this way adequate support is expected from the Central Government. He also attracted the attention of the Prime Minister that the migrant workers. Only 50 to 55 thousand migrant labourers have been able to return to Jharkhand, while their number is about 7 lakh. The Central Government should take some concrete measures to bring the migrant labourers to their homes under these circumstances so that the fear that thrives on them can also be removed.
Health Minister Banna Gupta, Chief Secretary Sukhdeo Singh, Principal Secretary to CM Rajiv Arun Ekka, Principal Secretary Health NM Kulkarni, ADG PRK Naidu alongwith other officials were present in the Video Conferencing.