(Update Based on Notifications as of May 17, 2020 & May 02, 2020)
- On 17.05.2020 the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India ("MHA" or "GOI") extended the national lockdown till May 31, 2020 and also issued new guidelines on measures to be taken for containment of Covid-19.1 The said Order now stipulates that each State and UT will now determine the "red", "orange" and "green" zones. Under the May 1, 2020 Order this classification was to be undertaken on a weekly basis by The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India ("MHFW"). However no time period has been given within which period such zonal classification will be undertaken by the States.
- However, since the earlier May 1, 2020 zonal classification had been issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the said zonal classification will continue till such time as either the requirement for a zonal classification is itself removed or the relevant State Government notifies the revised classification pursuant to the delegation of power undertaken on May 1, 2020.
- Thus the 30.04.2020, classification that had been released by the MHFW2 which had classified districts into "Red Zone", "Orange Zone" and "Green Zone" and was indicated to be applicable "for the week after May 3rd, 2020"3; will continue to be applicable till the zonal classification is now updated by the relevant State Governments and Union Territories in accordance with the MHFW Guidelines issued on May 17, 2020. It should be noted that this is therefore a fluid classification. A district that was a red or orange district as per May 1, 2020 classification, can become a green district if it does not report any COVID-19 case for a period of 21 consecutive days. At the same time a green zone can become orange or red if COVID-19 infections are reported in the same.
- It will be critical for the stakeholders in the CGD sector to track the classification of the individual districts that comprise each authorised area and changes to the classification that occur.
- Our Firm has developed a table providing the status as of 2.05.2020 (which will in light of the May 17, 2020 notification of Government of India would now be subject to classification released by each State of Union Territory) and would be updated regularly.
Footnotes
1 Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India Order no. 40-3/2020-DM-I(A) and New Guidelines dated 17.05.2020 accessed at Ministry of Home Affairs Website https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/MHAOrderextension_1752020_0.pdf
2 vide D.O. Letter No. Z.28015/19/2020-EMR
3 Ministry of Health and Family Welfare updated classification dated 30.04.2020 available at the official Twitter handle of Asian News International - https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1256072251134414851
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