As compared to april 2019: Tax collection dips to a tenth, ‘situation grim’

Hospital staff, bank officials, grain, vegetable and fruit mandis, grocery stores, takeaway services, e-commerce websites and pharmacists have been allowed to go to work too, since they are deemed to be part of essential services.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is also the finance minister, said the situation is grim. “April was the first month where we could see a major impact of the lockdown and COVID-19, as by the time the lockdown was announced in March, most collections were already in. Tax collections are next to nothing,” he said.

Delhi’s budget of Rs 65,000 crore was announced in March, on the first day of Delhi’s lockdown.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Sisodia said: “Once we are over this, we will review sector-wise issues and see what the need of the hour is for each area. There is no point of a knee-jerk reaction when we don’t have a precedent or know what lies ahead. This is something that has not been seen in recent human history. There is no template, and conventional reform plans are useless.”

Talking about an extension to the lockdown, which is in place till May 3, Sisodia said it was too early to take a decision.

After a fall in the number of fresh COVID-19 cases in the city, the numbers have started to rise again. There were 128 reported cases on Thursday and 138 on Friday.

Sisodia said, “May 3 is still over a week away. We will have to take a call on extension closer to that. Right now, we plan to have consultations with the industry and all stakeholders as well as economists, but that can happen only if there is a pause to the rate of spread of the disease. Once there is a pause, we can shift the focus back to the economy. Right now all our focus is on COVID-19. But yes, if the government doesn’t have money, it will run out of money even for this fight. There are too many uncertainties right now.”