In a precautionary measure aimed at combating the spread of the coronavirus, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has decided to cut short the visiting hours for citizens in its main administrative building in Bhayandar, till further notice.
Citizens and media-persons will now be allowed to visit the main administrative building for their tax and other civic-related work only after 3 pm, confirmed civic chief Chandrakant Dange who also indicated that if need arises the time restrictions could be extended to local ward offices and other civic establishments in the twin-city.
Maharashtra has already invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 that gives wide-ranging powers to officials to enforce measures, including lock down required to tackle an outbreak. Already struggling hard to reach their desired target, the property tax recovery drive initiated by the civic administration has suffered a significant drop due to the coronavirus scare.
“Although tax recovery has taken a slight hit, we have already managed to recover 72 per cent of the total dues. However, tackling the spread of coronavirus is a bigger concern for the civic administration,” said tax officer Sanjay Donde.
Meanwhile a notification has been issued exempting state government employees to mark their presence through the Aadhaar-based biometric attendance system. However, all employees are required to mark their presence manually in the attendance register (as done prior to launch of the biometric system), during this period.
Meanwhile, 38 patients have been tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra, the most for any state in the country.
In Maharashtra, Pimpri-Chinchwad has the most 9 cases, Pune 7, Mumbai 6, Nagpur 4, Yawatmal 3, Kalyan 3, Navi Mumbai 2, while Raigad, Thane, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad have reported one case each.
