COVID-19 recovery rate more than 56 percent in Pondy: CM

Puducherry, Jul 5 () Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Sunday said the Union Territory has recorded a COVID-19 recovery rate of more than 56 percent.

Noting that the fatality rate was 1.4 percent, he said this was indicative of 'good performance' of hospitals and healthcare available to the people infected by the virus here.

Urging people to adhere to the norms of lockdown without being lax, Chief Minister said there were demands from several quarters that a total lockdown should be adopted on Sundays in Puducherry.

"This was in practice in neighbouring Chennai. But the incidence of the infection continued to surge in that city.

Unless people adhered to the norms of lockdown, curbing the spread of the infection through such measures would not be feasible, he told reporters virtually rejecting the plea for complete lockdown on Sundays in the Union Territory.

Narayanasamy said containment zones were established intensively in places where the prevalence of the infection was comparatively higher.

Blaming Lt Governor Kiran Bedi for 'unnecessarily delaying' the budget presentation for the fiscal 2020-21 by the administration, the CM said, "we had submitted to Bedi the file relating to budget proposals in February last with a view to adopting the budget in the Assembly in April.

The Lt Governor raised several queries and returned the file."

After projecting the requirements of the governmentin consultation with the Finance Secretary of Puducherry, the file was sent back to Bedi, which was forwarded to Union Home Ministry for approval.

The Ministry's approval would be available in the next couple of days and the budget would be presented on the floor of the House in the next stage, he said.

He dismissed allegations that the government was responsible for the delay in submitting the budget.

The Assembly had adopted a Vote on Account (Appropriation) Bill on March 30 without adopting a full fledged budget earmarking funds for the first 3 months from April to June in the incoming fiscal (2020-2021).

Narayanasamy expressed hope that the Centre would sanction funds to Puducherry, including the compensation for implementation of the GST due for 4 months from March after the territorial government's budget was submitted. COR ROH ROH