Coronavirus impact: BMC imposes work-from-home rule on private firms

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi has ordered all private firms to function at only 50 percent of their staff capacity and send the rest to work from home or the companies would face action under section 188 of the Indian Penal Court (IPC).

Disobeying the order can lead to a jail term of six months or a fine or both.

The order comes after six cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Mumbai in the last two weeks. The number of coronavirus cases in Maharastra have increased sharply to 39.  

Praveen Pardeshi spoke to the Economics Times and said, "We have decided to do this to encourage private firms to allow half of their work force to work from home. This is also their responsibility to ensure that this thing (coronavirus) is contained and does not spread."

The BMC Commissioner has been given the right to issue such an order under Rule 10 of the Epidemic Disease Act 1897. Services like those providing drinking water, banking services, sewerage services, telephone and internet services, rail and transportation services, and grocery services, as well as hospitals, medical centers, and medical stores, have been exempted from this rule, hence won't have to follow the BMC's order.  

According to the Commissioner, the enforcement of this order is in the hands of the Assistant Municipal Commissioners. They will be visiting several companies across the city to inspect whether the order to send 50 percent of staff to work from home is being followed or not.

The BMC will also be restricting traffic movement near the isolation centers like Kasturba Hospital and Seven Hills Hospital in Mumbai.

According to the Health Ministry, a total of 125 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed so far in the country. Among them 17 are foreign nationals and 108 are Indian nationals. Across the world, around 180,00 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed. Over 7,000 lives have already been lost due to the deadly virus.

Also read: Coronavirus in India Live updates: Total COVID-19 positive cases rise to 126 in the country