Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam on Wednesday said the e-pass system would remain in force in Tamil Nadu for as long as there were restrictions on inter-district movement.
Political parties, including the Opposition DMK and the ruling AIADMK's ally, the BJP, have, in recent days, demanded the abolition of the e-pass system, contending, among other things, that people were being put to hardship.
Speaking to reporters at Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai, Mr. Shanmugam said, “As long as there are restrictions on inter-district movement, the e-pass system is needed. Restrictions cannot be imposed without the e-pass system." But there were certain defects in the e-pass system, and those were being addressed, Mr. Shanmugam said. He was in Chengalpattu district to review the steps being taken in the district for containing the spread of COVID-19.
Following the instructions of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, two teams in every district were involved in overseeing the e-pass system, he said.
Elaborating on the challenges being faced by the authorities in this regard, the Chief Secretary said some applicants were providing “false information” for obtaining e-passes.
"People should apply for e-passes only for genuine necessities. We have also allowed e-passes for trade. But people should avoid applying for passes for visiting their relatives,” he said.
When asked about the monitoring and surveillance of people with e-passes, the top official said the general public should not venture out without e-passes for inter-district travel, and should not misuse them. Mr. Shanmugam said the steps being taken by the Chengalpattu district administration were “satisfactory”.
The distribution of free face masks would commence in the next four to five days, he said.
During the review meeting, senior authorities instructed the district administration to strengthen contact tracing and quarantine measures so that the spread of the infection outside the COVID-19 containment zones could be curbed.
"We would implement a street-wise micro-planning strategy, which was implemented in Chennai, for Chengalpattu," Mr. Shanmugam said.
