The State Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy gave its nod for an ordinance to clear the budget for first quarter of the 2020-21 financial year.
The State government, initially, had plans to present vote-on-account budget for the first quarter of the fiscal. The scenario changed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing the countrywide lockdown till April 14 in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
It was reported in these columns two days ago that the government was mulling the ordinance route for the budget.
Announcing the details on Friday, Information and Public Relations (I &PR) Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) said that the Cabinet had opted for the ordinance route to clear the budget in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19.
“Now, it is not possible to convene the budget session in wake of the pandemic, hence the government is going for the ordinance route. The details of the ordinance will be disclosed once Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan gives his nod,” he said.
The Chief Minister held extensive discussions on available medical facilities and strengthening the healthcare system. A high-level monitoring system has been put in place.
To gather the state-level feedback, a task force with five Ministers, 10 senior IAS officers and four officials from the CMO will be formed and it will coordinate with the district-level teams of Ministers and officers, he said.
As many as 12 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported from the State till date. About 28,000 NRIs/foreign returnees have been identified. Four hospitals at Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Nellore each are being converted into dedicated super specialty COVID-19 hospitals, while 100-bed isolation centres are in place at constituency level and 200-bed isolation centres at the district level.
Order placed for equipment
Around 400 ventilators are in place and PPEs (Personal Protection Equipment) surgical masks for patient attendants, along with N95 masks are available. Order has been placed for more equipment which will be delivered in a few days, the Minister said.
The helpline ‘104’ with 60 parallel lines will be active round the clock and healthcare staff will attend to all emergencies. “Village volunteers, along with ANMs, Asha workers and health assistants, are doing their best and people must cooperate by ensuring home isolation and social distancing,” he said.
Mr. Perni Nani further said that the people were requested to take the lockdown seriously and help the government fight the “invisible enemy”.
Stranded people
“It is sad to see that students and others from our State are stranded at other places, but the helplessness of the situation prompts us to say that they have to stay where they are or cross the border and be quarantined for 14 days. The situation is grim. Social distancing is being maintaining during the Cabinet meeting,” the Minister said.
Essential commodities will be available and goods vehicles are permitted to move and the Minister for Fisheries Mopidevi Venkataramana will speak to the aqua exporters for transport of their products, he added.
