The Tamil Nadu Cabinet, which met on Saturday, decided to await and abide by the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of extension of lockdown.
Briefing the media, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam said that the Cabinet felt that the full effect of lockdown would not be realised by any one State deciding on an extension. As Mr. Modi would be taking a decision on the issue shortly, the Cabinet decided that it would accept any decision he took.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, according to Mr. Shanmugam, apprised the Cabinet on the discussion that he had with the PM earlier. During the video-conference, Mr. Palaniswami requested the Centre to extend the lockdown by at least two weeks, on the basis of inputs from experts.
Asked why the State government should wait for the Central government’s decision when States such as Odisha and Punjab had gone for an extension, Mr. Shanmugam asserted that “it is not a matter wherein one State can decide unilaterally. At the video-conference, all the CMs were also of the view that it would not be proper if one State took a decision which was different from that of another. So, they had all decided that all the States should function in a unified manner and they should rally behind the Prime Minister.” Moreover, there was “no hurry” for Tamil Nadu to decide on the issue as the lockdown would remain in force till 6 a.m. on April 15.
One more factor that was considered by the State government was that T.N. was placed second as far as the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was concerned.
The Cabinet, which reviewed steps taken to tackle the spread of COVID-19 and examined the status of every district, recorded its appreciation for the cooperation extended by people and the services rendered by front line health workers, doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, officials of various departments, conservancy workers and the police.
Asked whether the State government would provide more assistance to daily wage earners and workers in the unorganised sector if the lockdown was extended, the Chief Secretary said that as and when the extension was done, the CM would announce the government’s steps.
On the launch of the scheme of fair price shops selling grocery items at ₹500 a bag, Mr. Shanmugam said that the government felt that the price was on the higher side. So, the authorities had been advised to prepare similar bags with lower quantities of groceries for ₹100 or ₹150 a bag.
