GUWAHATI: Even as the Centre’s latest missive asking states to allow inter-state and intra-state movement of people, goods and services, Meghalaya has apparently overlooked the pan-India directive unlike its counterparts in the Northeast.
The Meghalaya government had recently decided to close all entry points to the state for one week every month in the next three months, starting September 2020.
Meghlaya home minister Lahkmen Rymbui has defended the state government’s decision not to throw open the inter-state border, overruling the direction issued in this regard by the Union government.
In a missive to the state chief secretaries on Saturday, Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla had asked the states not to formulate own rules in regard to inter-state and intra-state movement.
Bhalla, in his letter, referred to a paragraph of the MHA’s Unlock guidelines “which clearly states that there shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/approval/e-permit will be required for such movement. This includes the movement of persons and goods for cross-land border trade under treaties with neighbouring countries.”
Mizoram government too has imposed certain restrictions but has opened inter-district movement except in the containment zones but restricted inter-state movement of passenger vehicles to three days a week. Inter-state movement of essential commodities is allowed round the clock though, sources said.
“Such restrictions at the local level imposed by the district administration or by the state government, amount to violation of the guidelines issued by MHA under the provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005,” Bhalla wrote in the letter to the states.
Assam, in its latest order, has permitted both intra and inter-state movement except on weekends when there is a complete lockdown in the entire state. The state chief secretary, however, could not be contacted for comment on Friday.
Nagaland on the other hand sought to buy time for implementation of the directive even as it was looking forward not to dilute the MHA guidelines.
Speaking to The Shillong Times on Friday, Nagaland chief secretary, Temjen Toy said the high-power committee chaired by the chief minister approves the SOPs and other protocols. But we have not been able to convene the meeting of the committee as of now to finalise things.
“The government of India has said that there should be no dilution of the MHA guidelines but states can make them more stringent whenever required. So, we are not diluting any of the MHA guidelines. In fact, depending on the local conditions and situations, we are trying to make it stringent,” Toy said.
Certain districts in Arunachal Pradesh, such as West Siang, have done away with the e-permit system for entry and exit after the home secretary’s missive to facilitate free movement of people and goods.
Asked about the missive, state chief secretary, Naresh Kumar said that Arunachal Pradesh, being located in one corner of the country, there was no crossover traffic.
“The order is for pan-India to allow free flow of movement of goods between states. Then again, Arunachal does not have any land route to Bhutan, Myanmar or China. So, there is no issue,” Kumar said.
States like Tripura and Manipur too have allowed inter-state and intra-state movement, adhering to the latest MHA directive.