States and State LegislaturesGovernment of Chhattisgarh’s response to the COVID-19 pandemicAnurag Vaishnav- April 21, 2020In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the central and state governments have implemented several measures to reduce the spread of the disease and provide relief for those affected by the it.  In this blog, we look at some of the key measures taken by the Government of Chhattisgarh with regard to public health, ensuring supply of essential commodities and providing relief to affected persons.COVID-19 cases in the StateAs of April 21, 2020, Chhattisgarh has 36 confirmed cases of COVID-19.  Of these, 11 are active cases, and 25 patients have been cured or discharged.   This is illustrated below in Figure 1.Figure 1: Day wise COVID-19 Cases in ChhattisgarhSources: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India; PRS.Key measures taken by the State GovernmentOn March 13, 2020, the Department of Health and Family Welfarenotifiedthe Chhattisgarh Epidemic Disease, COVID-19 Regulations, 2020.   Key provisions of the regulations include:The district collector can take necessary actions such as sealing geographical area of the district and ban vehicular movement, in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic.  Further, the district administration may take measures such as closure of schools, offices and banning public gatherings.In order to avoid rumours and unauthenticated information, no person or institution can use any print or electronic media for information regarding COVID-I9 without prior permission of Health Department.All health facilities (including private) should have COVID-19 corners for screening of suspected cases.  Further, they should record travel history of a person if he has travelled to an area affected by COVID-19.Movement restrictions:Following these regulations, the government announced several additional measures to restrict movement of people to contain the spread of COVID-19.On March 19, the Transport departmentstopped runningof all inter-state buses in the state to restrict movement to and from the state.  On March 21, all city bus services in urban areas of the state weresuspended. This was followed bystoppageof all transport including auto, taxi and e-rickshaws.On March 22, the governmentannounceda lockdown in all urban areas of the state till March 31 during which all offices, institutions and other activities were to remain closed.   Essential services such as medical shops, vegetable shops, petrol pumps, electricity and water supply services were open.On March 25, the central governmentannouncedon a 21-day country-wide lockdown till April 14.  On April 14, the lockdown was furtherextendedtill May 3, 2020.Essential Goods and Services:Following the lockdown, the government notified certain additional essential goods and services that will remain unaffected by the lockdown.   These are noted below:On March 13, 2020, the central governmentnotifiedhand sanitisers, surgical masks and N-95 masks as Essential Commodities.  This implies that the government can regulate the product, supply and pricing of these items.   Following this, the state governmentnotifiedthat the district administration should monitor the price of surgical masks, N-95 masks and hand sanitisers in each district of the state.On March 24, the state department of Food and Public Distributionnotifiedcertain additional essential goods and services under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.  These include: (i) wheat and rice mills, (ii) operations of items used in acquirement or storage of items under the Public Distribution System, such as fertilisers, (iii) supply of Petrol, Diesel, CNG and LPG, among others.On April 15, the Ministry of Home Affairs issuedguidelineson the measures to be taken by state governments until May 3.  As per these guidelines, select activities will be permitted in less-affected districts from April 20 onwards to reduce the hardships faced by people.  Permitted activities include: (i) health services such as hospitals, clinics, and vets, (ii) agriculture and related activities such as fisheries and plantations, (iii) MNERGA work, (iv) construction activities, and (v) industrial establishments.Relief measures:During the lockdown, the state government announced several measures to provide relief to the affected individuals.  Key measures include:Rice for two months will beprovidedin April to all beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System.  Antyodaya & Annapurna ration card holders will alsogetsugar and salt for two months in April.  Two quintal of rice isallocatedto every gram panchayat, which can be utilised for distribution to individuals without ration cards, subject to a maximum of 5 kg for an individual.4 kg of rice at primary level and 6 kg at upper primary level will beprovidedto school children under the Mid-day Meal Scheme, on account of closure of schools.  Further, arrangements will be made toprovideready to eat take home rations for undernourished children between the age of 3 to 6 at Aanganwadi centres.The governmentapprovedsanction of MLA funds for corona virus prevention and other necessary arrangements and support.  The Chief Ministerannouncedthat there will be no mandatory deduction from salaries of state government officials and employees for pandemic relief.The state’s Labour DepartmentsanctionedRs 3.8 crore to aid labourers affected due to lockdown.Pending taxes, interest and penalties of bus and truck operators of nearly Rs 331 crore to bewaivedoff.Health Measures:Over the last few weeks, the government issued several guidelines and orders on containment of the virus, patient handling and protection of healthcare workers.  Some of these are noted below:On March 23, the government of ChhattisgarhdeclaredCorona Virus as a "Notified Infectious Disease" under the Chhattisgarh Public Health Act, 1949.  Further, itnotifiedmeasures to be taken for prevention of spread of COVID-19 at industries and workplaces.  These included restricting the number of employees at workplaces, and ensuring sanitisation at workplace.Guidelines regarding bio-medical waste in quarantine homes and camps werenotified.  These guidelines provide that all workers involved in waste collection should be provided with personal protective equipment.  Further, vehicles carrying such waste should be sanitised with 1% hypochlorite after every trip.On April 11, the Department of Health and Family Welfare made itmandatoryto wear a mask for all persons while stepping out of their house for any public place.The department alsoreleasedguidelines for patients cured of COVID-19.  These guidelines provide that such persons should be escorted to their home district from the hospital and regular monitoring and supervision of their health should be ensured by the district administration.Further, the departmentreleasedguidelines for continuation of other hospital services during COVID-19 outbreak.  The guidelines provide that the patients should be advised on phone as far as possible, and should be given separate timings for in-person appointments to avoid congestion at hospitals.  On April 18, the Chief Ministerannouncedan online health consultation website for patients, through which patients can seek free of cost advice from doctors.For more information on the spread of COVID-19 and the central and state government response to the pandemic, please seehere.ParliamentFirst no-confidence motion of the 17th Lok Sabha discussed todayNiranjana Menon- August 8, 2023Discussion on the first no-confidence motion of the 17thLok Sabha began today.  No-confidence motions and confidence motions are trust votes, used to test or demonstrate the support of Lok Sabha for the government in power.  Article 75(3) of the Constitution states that the government is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha.  This means that the government must always enjoy the support of a majority of the members of Lok Sabha.  Trust votes are used to examine this support.  The government resigns if a majority of members support a no-confidence motion, or reject a confidence motion.So far, 28 no-confidence motions (including the one being discussed today) and 11 confidence motions have beendiscussed.  Over the years, the number of such motions has reduced.  The mid-1960s and mid-1970s saw more no-confidence motions, whereas the 1990s saw more confidence motions.Figure1: Trust votes in ParliamentNote: *Term shorter than 5 years; **6-year term.Source: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.The no-confidence motion being discussed today wasmovedon July 26, 2023.  A motion of no-confidence is moved with the support of at least 50 members.   The Speaker has the discretion to allot time for discussion of the motion.  TheRules of Procedurestate that the motion must be discussed within 10 days of being introduced.  This year, the no-confidence motion wasdiscussed13 calendar days after introduction.  Since the introduction of the no-confidence motion on July 26, 12 Bills have been introduced and 18 Bills have been passed by Lok Sabha.  In the past, on four occasions, the discussion on no-confidence motions began seven days after their introduction.  On these occasions, Bills and other important issues were debated before the discussion on the no-confidence motion began.Figure2: Members rise in support of the motion of no-confidence in Lok SabhaSource: Sansad TV, Lok Sabha, July 26, 2023; PRS.Figure3: Number of days from introduction to discussion on no-confidence motionsNote: Number of days implies calendar days.Source: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.On average, no-confidence motions (excluding the one being discussed today) have been discussed for 13 hours over three days.  Discussions have lasted longer than 20 hours on four instances, most recently in 2003.  Today’s no-confidence motion was allotted 12 hours discussion time by theBusiness Advisory Committee.Following the discussion, the motion is put to vote.  26 out of 27 no-confidence motions (excluding the one being discussed today) have been voted upon and rejected.  This means that no government has ever had to resign following a vote of no-confidence.   On one occasion, in 1979, the discussion on a no-confidence motion against the Morarji Desai government remained inconclusive.  He resigned before the motion was put to vote.  50% of all no-confidence motions (14 out of 28) were discussed between 1965 and 1975.  Of these, 12 were against governments headed by Indira Gandhi.Figure4: Duration of discussion on no-confidence motionsNote: This graph excludes the no confidence motion moved on July 26, 2023.Source: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.In comparison, confidence motions have a more varied history.  The first motion, brought in 1979 to demonstrate confidence in Charan Singh’s government, was not discussed at all.  The Prime Minister resigned before the discussion could take place.  Since then, 11 confidence motions have been discussed in Lok Sabha, with nine occurring in the 1990s.  During this period, several coalition governments were formed, and Prime Ministers sought to prove their majority throughconfidence motions.   These motions have been discussed, on average, for 12 hours over two days.Figure5: Duration of discussion of confidence motionsSource: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.Of the 11 confidence motions discussed in Lok Sabha, seven were accepted.  On three instances, governments had to resign as they could not prove that they had the support of the majority.  On one instance in 1996, the motion was not put to vote.  Following an eleven-hour discussion on this confidence motion, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced his intention to resign on the floor of the House.  He resigned 16 days into his term.Vajpayee became Prime Minister again in 1999, and faced another confidence motion.   This time, it was put to vote.   The motion was defeated by a margin of one vote.  This has been the closest result on a trust vote in the history of Lok Sabha.  The next closest result was when a motion of no-confidence against P V Narasimha Rao’s government was defeated by 14 votes in 1993.  In most cases, results have been in favour of the government by a large margin.«12345678910»
States and State LegislaturesGovernment of Chhattisgarh’s response to the COVID-19 pandemicAnurag Vaishnav- April 21, 2020