A Punjab government statement on Tuesday said that, while appreciating the State’s COVID-19 micro-containment and house-to-house surveillance strategy during a videoconference with Chief Ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked all other States to adopt the model that was helping Punjab successfully control the spread of the pandemic to a significant extent.
According to the statement, the PM had intervened as Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was describing Punjab’s model to combat coronavirus (COVID-19) and had suggested that all States should follow the same strategic approach.
The videoconference was part of Mr. Modi’s scheduled two-day interactions to review the COVID-19 situation and the management strategies for it from all States.
Economic impact
During the meeting, Captain Amarinder suggested to the Prime Minister to set up a group, which should include a few CMs, to discuss and formulate a coordinated Centre-State response to the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the economy and governments across the country, added the statement.
The economic fallout of COVID-19
The Chief Minister, according to the statement, said a detailed memorandum had already been sent to the Government of India, listing out the impact of COVID-19 and also seeking fiscal and non-fiscal assistance. Captain Amarinder requested that the State’s pending share of taxes be released to tide over the fiscal crisis. The crisis in Punjab was likely to be acute, with a shortfall of about ₹25,000-₹30,000 crore in revenue collection on various counts, he said.
