Home Ministry: Fighting COVID-19 24x7

Led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah from the front, the MHA has been tirelessly working and coordinating with states and union territories virtually on real-time basis to ensure eradication of problems arising out of the lockdown announced to combat novel coronavirus.

While senior officers in other ministries joined their duties on Monday, it has been business as usual in the Ministry of Home Affairs during the lockdown, with it being the nerve centre for advising states about almost everything, including shipment of necessary equipment for fighting the virus.

Officials said the MHA, which has set up a round-the clock control room to regularly monitor implementation of the 21-day lockdown, is one of the few ministries which has continued functioning amid the curbs announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24.

Apart from ensuring law and order, the MHA has been tasked with ensuring regular supply of essential commodities across the country, monitoring of the situation arising out of large scale movement of migrant workers, ensuring their shelter, food and healthcare facilities.

The MHA has been the nodal authority for facilitation, monitoring, follow up and taking corrective steps with regards to the lockdown, an official said.

Shah and his two junior ministers -- G Kishan Reddy and Nityanand Rai - have been coming to office regularly and attending various meetings.

Top officials, including Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, has been attending office daily -- even on holidays and weekly offs, sources said. He attended all video conference with chief secretaries convened by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba.

Bhalla is also the chairperson of the National Executive Committee governing the Disaster Management Act, 2005, under which the lockdown measures are being implemented.

Infact, the working hours of the home secretary has become longer in last three weeks than normal days as he had to stay at his North Block office chairing meetings till late in the evening and for other works, the officials said.

Under Bhalla's signature, six orders were issued on March 24, 25, 27, April 2, 3 and 10 giving exemptions for various categories of services and people from the purview of the lockdown.

Over a dozen letters were also written by the home secretary to state chief secretaries keeping them abreast with various aspects of the lockdown, exemptions and their implementation at the ground level.

To assist the home secretary, almost all six additional secretaries and 14 joint secretaries have been coming to office regularly.

Joint Secretary (Internal Security) Punya Salila Srivastava is another key officer of the MHA who has been attending office without any break for the last three weeks.

Srivastava also addresses the government's joint press conference along with her colleagues from the Ministry of Health and ICMR on a daily basis. To assist the senior officers, their staff, though not in full strength, is coming to office.

Junior officials, who are not staff members of the senior officers or ministers, have started coming to office from Monday on rotational basis.

Being a key ministry, works of the senior officers in the MHA have been more than normal during the lockdown period, another official said.

The home minister has attended the chief ministers' video conference convened by the prime minister. Shah had also attended the Union Cabinet meetings held during last three weeks and personally spoke over phone to all paramilitary personnel who were tested COVID-19 positive.