Haryana's revised guidelines allow industries to operate but with conditions

Chandigarh (Haryana) [India], May 1 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has approved the issuance of consolidated revised guidelines for easing the lockdown in the State with immediate effect.
An official spokesman said on Friday that as per the revised State guidelines, activities shall be allowed on the automatic route after obtaining a self-declaration from the industrial units, commercial establishments and construction projects, complying with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
He said that in the 14 districts of Haryana -- Ambala, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Fatehabad, Hisar, Jind, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Mahendergarh, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa and Yamunanagar -- immediate automatic self-generated approvals would be accorded within moments of the application being submitted on the portal as per the norms.
The spokesman said that for industries, industrial establishments and commercial and private establishments other than IT and ITeS units, if workforce requirement is up to 20 people, 100 per cent of the requirement would be allowed whereas, in case of requirement of more than 20 people, 50 per cent of the workforce or 20 people, whichever is higher, would be allowed.
He said that for IT and ITes units, in case of workforce requirement of up to 20 people, 50 per cent of the requirement would be allowed whereas, in case of requirement of more than 20 people, 33 per cent of the workforce or 10 people, whichever is higher, would be allowed.
He said that for the construction projects, in every case of in-situ construction projects, operations would be allowed with 100 per cent of the total workforce. However, in the case of non-in-situ projects, operations would be allowed with 50 per cent of the total workforce with the issuance of blue passes.
He said that in case the number of COVID-19 positive cases in any of these 14 districts reaches 15, all industrial units, commercial establishments and construction projects, would have to shut down their operations.
Therefore, as soon as there are 10 COVID-19 positive cases in the district, an auto-alert would be sent to every industrial unit, commercial establishment and construction project that has obtained approval on the portal that the district is only 5 short of the limit of 15 COVID-19 positive cases after which their permission and passes would automatically become non-valid and they would have to shut their unit down.
Similar messages would be sent with every increase of COVID-19 cases up to 15 and as soon as the said limit of 15 is reached, all permissions would stand automatically withdrawn, he added.
The spokesman said that in the remaining 8 districts of Faridabad, Gurugram, Sonipat, Panipat, Nuh, Palwal, Jhajjar and Panchkula, permissions would be granted on the basis of Development Block/Town or Zone (in case of MC) level assessment.
If the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the last 28 days in any Block/Town or Zone reaches 10, no industrial unit, except essential goods and services, would be allowed to operate.
Therefore, as soon as there are six COVID positive cases in any Block/Town or zone, an auto-alert would be sent to all approved units of the industrial units, commercial establishments and construction projects.
He said that the blocks/towns/zones (in case of Municipal Corporation) of the above-mentioned districts which have less than 10 cases would be allowed to operate as per the MHA guidelines of April 15, 2020, and passes to an individual unit in such districts would be issued.
He said that industries, commercial establishments and construction projects employing less than 10 workers in any of the 22 districts of Haryana need not apply to the State Government and may resume operations subject to the social distancing norms and other requirements as mentioned in MHA guidelines.
The spokesman said that in all 22 districts, industrial units, commercial establishments and construction projects having in-situ labour would be allowed to operate, with all the workers present in their premises, as per SOP. He said that in all districts in respect of every unit that does not begin functioning within seven days of approval; the approval would be liable to be cancelled without notice.
He said that the District Administration would continuously assess the on-ground situation and if new COVID-19 cases arise in the district, the Deputy Commissioner shall review the guidelines.
He said that in any district, 100 per cent export-oriented units and Units with 100 per cent In- situ labour would be given preference in the issuance of passes and other necessary facilitation support required to commence operations.
Further, in case the industrial unit or commercial establishment makes arrangement for the labour to stay in a building near to the factory premises or project site, such cases would be treated similar to in-situ labour projects.
The spokesman said that as the MHA guidelines lay emphasis on expediting the resumption of industrial operations in rural areas, all concerned including the District Administration has been encouraged to give preference to units in rural areas.
He said that the committees formed dated April 19, 2020, would undertake inspections of the above-permitted activities in their area of jurisdiction after the automatic approval to check their adherence to the SOPs and social distancing norms within a period of five days.
He made it clear that these guidelines would be applicable only to units not falling in a containment zone.