Work from home order may continue for a few months, says GMDA chief

Shubhra Pant | TNN | Updated: Apr 22, 2020, 11:12 IST

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GURUGRAM: Gurugram is testing more than any other Haryana city, and currently, active Covid-19 cases in the city do not make a worrying number, Haryana’s additional chief secretary and Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) CEO VS Kundu tells TOI. Kundu, who has been overseeing operations to contain the spread of Covid-19, also says committees to grant permissions to industries to reopen have been formed but emphasises that the government is focused on working models that scatter people around. Excerpts.
Gurugram is critical to the state and the national economy but is in the red zone. What is the way ahead from here in reopening the city?
A portal has been created on the Saral Haryana website and committees have been constituted at various level to grant these permissions (to industries that apply for reopening). The permissions will only be granted to those companies that follow all the standard operating procedures prescribed by the ministry of home affairs (MHA). In this context, companies will have to rearrange their shop floors to maintain social distancing and sanitise the workplaces, among other measures.
The Manesar automobile hub is also critical for providing employment to migrant workers. Is the government planning to look at it separately?
Any industries that want to reopen will have to seek permission as per MHA guidelines.
Where does the testing strategy go from here, in terms of stepping up tests to cover a larger number of people?
Gurugram is already the best in the state as far as the testing numbers are concerned. We have already done 1,000 tests per million population. We will continue to test in accordance with ICMR only. No random testing will be done as we might waste resources on people who do not need the tests. In case a group is vulnerable, we can do random testing within that neighbourhood.
How many testing kits do we have? Could you give us a daily number of tests you are targeting?
There are two kinds of tests being conducted in the country and they are both available in Gurugram. We exceeded 3,000 tests on Monday and are taking around 200 samples every day.
Has there been an increase in the number of PPEs? It’s a concern voiced by many doctors.
Gurugram has the state-level stockpile, in the sense that PPEs to other districts are also being transported from Gurugram. Locally, there is stock available with the CMO as well as MCG. We try and maintain the number of PPE kits in the stockpile at 2,000. However, if there is a surge in demand, we have manufacturers, including Maruti, who can now make and supply PPE kits.
Do you believe Gurugram and other NCR districts are managing to flatten the curve? Or is it too early still to make this deduction?
The lockdown has definitely helped a lot in containing the spread of the virus and it has helped us prepare our systems to prepare for the surge in the number of cases, if that happens. As of now, Gurugram has only 11 positive cases, which is not a worrying number.
By when can offices in the private sector, especially IT/ITES, hope to get functional once again?
That depends entirely on the directions from the state government. However, the direction to continue work from home is likely to be increased for a few months. We are trying to scatter people around and any model that promotes that will likely continue in the coming months.
Is there a timeline for resumption of public transport?
That again depends on directions from the central government.
Your community kitchen programme is big but the demands from it are bigger. The recent suicide at Sector 53 showed there are problems which cannot be solved by distributing cooked meals alone. Certain sections of the population have run out of cash. How is the government planning to tackle this?
Our two major priorities right now are containing the spread of the virus and making sure that no one in the city goes without food. As far as the food and relief distribution is concerned, it is a major challenge and we are working harder than ever. We have chalked out a plan wherein even those without ration cards can be helped out.