The Maharashtra government revised its order on Sunday, easing most of the restrictions on the industrial and commercial activities even in the urban areas mostly earmarked as Covid-19 red zones. The decision came a day before the third phase of nationwide lockdown comes into effect, where considerable relaxations have been given by the Centre to revive the economy.

The Maharashtra government allowed the shops and establishments dealing in non-essential commodities to open even in the 14 districts identified as red zones; the restrictions, however, will continue in the containment zones. This has paved way for the operations of almost all the commercial activities including opening of liquor shops from Monday.

The decision has been taken to revive the state economy, which has taken a massive hit due to the coronavirus lockdown. Maharashtra witnessed loss in revenue receipts of more than Rs 41,000 crore (around 17-18% of the annual receipts) in March and April.

The authorities, however, feel that the relaxation may lead to the largescale violations of lockdown norms in major cities like Mumbai, Thane and Pune that account for 90 per cent of the Covid-19 cases and may lead to surge in the spread of the disease.

“The decision was reversed within 24 hours, eyeing at the revenue loss. However, it may become difficult for the authorities now to restrict the crowding in these cities. Sensing this, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has directed the officials to ensure strict implementation of the lockdown in these areas. It going to be tough in the urban areas,” said a senior government official.

THe Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have 88.9 per cent of the cases (11,538 of 12,974) and 86.1 per cent of the deaths (473 of 548) in the state as on Sunday. Mumbai alone has 1,577 containment zones, of which 533 have bee marked as red, 633 blue and 359 orange.

Maharashtra, the worst-affected state in the country, has recorded 12,974 Covid-19 cases and 548 cases. of them, 8,800 cases and 343 deaths are reported in Mumbai alone.