Instant e-passes for everyone who applies from August 17, promises Tamil Nadu CM

Instant e-passes for everyone who applies from August 17, promises Tamil Nadu CM

"This decision has been taken in the interest of the public. Hence, the public is advised to utilise the e-pass system with responsibility," said CM Edappadi Palaniswami

Published: 14th August 2020 05:44 PM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Amidst demands from opposition parties to do away with the e-pass system, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday announced that from August 17, e-passes for inter-district movement will be issued to all those who apply for it without any delay.

People have to apply with details of their Aadhaar card or ration card. However, the e-pass system will continue for those who arrive from foreign countries or from other states in the country.

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"This decision has been taken in the interest of the public. Hence, the public is advised to utilise the e-pass system with responsibility, avoid unnecessary journeys and apply for e-passes only for unavoidable work," the Chief Minister said in a statement here. 

Palaniswami pointed out that in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, e-passes had been issued only for these reasons - marriages, medical emergencies and death of close relatives, work-related travel and returning to native places. Through this system, people who move from district to district are being monitored and if they test positive for the infection, contact tracing and quarantine of the contacts are undertaken.

When e-passes were first introduced, they were mandatory for all travel even within a district. In June, the system was relaxed by allowing travel without e-passes in zones, which typically consists of a bunch of districts. E-passes were mandated only for travel outside a zone. However, subsequently, the zones were abolished and e-passes were mandated for all inter-district travel. Currently, one does not require an e-pass for travel within a district, but only for inter-district or inter-state travel.

In the unlock 3.0 guidelines issued by the central government on July 29, it was notified that separate permission approvals or e- permits will not be required for the movement of persons or goods. However, states like Tamil Nadu continue to do so for interdistrict and intradistrict travel putting people in difficulty.

A division bench of the Madras High Court recently took a serious view of the state government's policy on issuing e-passes. The bench observed that the government officials issuing e-passes were ‘cut-throat’ and ‘bloodthirsty wolves’. The bench also observed that for the past four months, people are unable to travel from one district to another and are facing untold misery.