Officers in all ministries joined their duties on Monday, after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued instructions and the Union Ministers started working from their offices once again amidst the ongoing lockdown.
However, this has been business as usual for the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) led by the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah who ensured that the ministry worked non-stop throughout the lockdown, constantly coordinating with the state and Union Territories in order to ensure that all bottlenecks coming in way during the lockdown period were eradicated on a real-time basis.
In fact, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made it clear right from the word go that one of the two Ministers of State for Home Affairs- Nityanand Rai and G. Kishan Reddy should be available at the ministry at all times.
Though no such instruction was issued specifically by the Union Home Minister, the two Union Ministers of State have been working in day-night shifts in order to ensure that one minister is present at all times even as the Ministry handles the rigours of the lockdown.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla too has been a busy man throughout the lockdown- attending the office daily even on holidays and weekly offs, in order to keep the Ministry of Home Affairs working smoothly at all times.
Apart from the Union Home Secretary, almost all six additional secretaries and 14 joint secretaries have also been attending the office regularly since March 24 when the 21-day lockdown came into force.
The efficient functioning of the Ministry of Home Affairs is critical for the success of the lockdown. Apart from keeping an eye over the law and order situation in the country, the Ministry has also been charged with ensuring unhindered supply of essential commodities across the country.
Being the nerve centre, it is also required to monitor the large-scale movement of migrants of the kind that had happened from Delhi to Uttar Pradesh last month, and also ensuring their food and lodging facilities.
The MHA is the nodal authority when it comes to flawless implementation of the 21-day lockdown. As a matter of fact, the Ministry has also set up a Unified Command Centre, which works 24X7, to combat the Wuhan virus outbreak.
15 NDRF officials remain present at all times in order to facilitate coordination for this round the clock Command Centre.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has really been working on a war-footing throughout the Coronavirus outbreak and the 21-day lockdown that followed. Shah has once again led from the front and the Ministry has really set an example by working round the clock tirelessly. If the lockdown has been successfully implemented, the credit goes largely to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.