COVID-19: Closed industries being revived, says Haryana CM

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said that industries lying closed because of the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic are being revived.

For this, the work of granting permission and passes is underway on Saral Haryana portal saralharyana.gov.in. He said that all industries should register themselves and make their data available to the State Government so that it can be used while formulating policies in the future.

Giving details in this regard, an official spokesperson on Sunday said that there are about 1,16,700 micro, small, and medium, industries established presently in the State and so far, 55,935 industries have applied on this portal for permission to operate.

These include 35,572 industries in urban areas and 20,246 industries in rural areas. Apart from this, there are 608 in-situ industries. With the reopening of these industries, 21,86,098 workers will get work again.

The spokesperson said that there are 43,653 industries with the strength of up to 25 workers. The number of industries having 25 to 200 workers is 10,186, while the number of industries with more than 200 workers is 1979. He informed that so far 34,375 industries have been allowed to operate.

Of these, 18,816 industries are in urban areas and 11, 842 industries are located in rural areas. With the opening of these industries, a total of 15,48,574 workers have been employed, including 8,02,825 workers in urban areas and 4,97,828 workers in rural areas, he added.

He informed that similarly, 558 in-situ industries have also been allowed to operate. With this, a total of 26,546 personnel were employed. Of these, 13,574 in 294 industries in urban areas and 12,972 in 264 industries in rural areas have been employed. Similarly, the operation of 1448 brick kilns has also been allowed in the state, in which 2,08,046 workers have returned to work, he added.

The spokesperson said that compliance with the guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry is being ensured and all industries have been directed to strictly follow the Standard Operating Procedure issued for the workplaces.

He said that social distancing and the availability of face mask, hand wash, and stiser has been made mandatory. Directions have been given for cleanliness; thermal scanning, different shifts, and different lunch break timing. Workers above 65 years of age will stay at home.

He said that Haryana Roadways buses have been offered for the movement of employees for the smooth operation of small, medium, and micro industries. With a view to avoiding mass movement of migrant workers, the State Government has set up shelter homes for them.

The spokesperson said that on March 6, 2020, the first positive case of COVID-19 in Haryana was a Paytm employee in Gurugram. The State government took strong note of this and the company too closed its office in Gurugram. He said that adequate arrangements were made in Haryana to prevent the spread of COVID-19, due to which the situation in Haryana remained largely under control compared to other states.

( With inputs from ANI )