MHA opposes Tamil Nadu move to allow 100% occupancy in cinemas, multiplexes

Writes to state Chief Secy citing violation of MHA norms, asks TN to follow ministry rule of permitting only 50% capacity

The Centre has stepped in after Covid-19 fears couldn’t apparently contain the craze for cinema in Tamil Nadu.
 
Two days after the state government permitted theatres to run with 100 per cent capacity, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) wrote a letter to the Tamil Nadu chief secretary calling the order a violation of its guidelines. The MHA’s guidelines allow not more than 50 per cent seat occupancy in theatres.
 
In the letter, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that the state government’s decision to increase the seating capacity of cinemas from 50 to 100 per cent amounted