As the lives of millions of Hyderabadis have been turned upside down, many of them losing their jobs and worried about paying their bills, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao directed property owners not to demand rents from their tenants.
Addressing a press conference after a marathon six-hour Cabinet meet on Sunday, Rao has ordered a three month moratorium on rents, a lifeline to people who cannot pay rents as some of them either lost their jobs or their salaries slashed due to the complete lockdown arising out of the coronavirus pandemic.
Citing the recent RBI three-moratorium on fixed term loans and EMI payments to help borrowers, Rao ordered landlords to exhibit the same forbearance in this hour of crisis. He even threatened the landlords with serious action if they harass the tenants for rents during the period of three months starting March 1. “Call 100 if you have any problem,” he said.
The Chief Minister also cited the central government’s recent order, issued under the Disaster Management Act, which stops landlords from demanding rent from migrant workers for one month. It also provides for strict action against the landlords who force evict their tenants. The Telangana government’s Cabinet decision follows similar orders issued by the UP government and appeals by the Delhi and Karnataka governments asking landlords not to harass the renters.
However, a significant drop in rent payments for three months would have a domino effect. Senior citizens could be severely impacted by the state government decision as they mainly depend on rent. Such a decision by the government would leave many landlords without enough money to pay their own electricity, water bills and even property taxes. Landlords, especially smaller ones that operate on small margins, will be unable to pay their bills or even buy essentials. Although there are no accurate figures, it is estimated that there could be at least 5 million renters in population of 8.7 million in Hyderabad.
Further, the Telangana government directed the officials to seize the wedding and function halls in the city and convert them into government godowns for a temporary period till the current crisis abates. “With the prevailing crisis of Covid-19 and total lockdown, the government is compelled to seize the wedding halls for the good cause of using them as godowns to store agricultural produce. In any case, the wedding halls should be closed till May 7 as the government has banned all large gatherings including weddings. This is a crucial time of harvesting. The government might as well use the wedding halls since they will be closed,” he said.
KCR says no to Swiggy & Zomata, asks people to have pappu over pizza
While the Modi government last week permitted e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and others to resume their services for non-essential items from April 20, the Telangana government ruled out any relaxations for the e-commerce players.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday after the Cabinet meeting, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao said food delivery aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato cannot operate in Telangana until further notice. “The government is not against Swiggy or Zomato. In fact, the government loses revenue as these players pay service taxes. In Delhi, a pizza delivery boy was found to have contracted corona. In view of this, the government cannot put its people at risk. I suggest people to have pappu for now and postpone pizza for a later date,” he said.
Hyderabad is one the biggest markets for food delivery aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato, especially in the IT corridor of the city. However, the Telangana government offered no relaxations to the food delivery aggregators in view of a Delhi a pizza delivery boy who tested positive for coronavirus and more than 72 families whom he contacted were quarantined.
In a move to give a fillip to the economy, the Modi government had recently relaxed lockdown regulations allowing e-commerce players to operate.
