Maruti Suzuki has been granted permission by the Haryana state government to restart work at its Manesar production facility on a single shift basis. The company has two manufacturing units in Haryana in Manesar and Gurgaon. The permission to resume work at Manesar plant has geen granted as it is outside the limits of Gurugram Municipal Corporation. However, the company's official spokesperson said that the decision regarding the resumption of production has not been taken yet. The production was suspended at Maruti's both plants exactly one month ago due to COVID-19.
Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner granted the permission to Maruti Suzuki to resume operations at its Manesar plant with 4,696 employees and 50 vehicles only on a single shift. "No other manufacturing/service activity is permitted in the unit other than those approved under the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India during the said lockdown period, else strict action will be taken and you will be responsible for the same," the order said. RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki told PTI that the company will start operations only when it can maintain continuous production and sell it, which is not possible at this point of time. In addition, both the Manesar and Gurgaon plants are interlinked and the permission for Gurgaon unit is not granted as it falls in the city limits.
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There was confusion over the number of staff members allowed as well, since different numbers were quoted, and “our team was in talks with the government on this and other related issued,” the company's spokesperson said. Additional Chief Secretary V.S. Kundu while speaking to The Hindu told that Maruti could resume operations only after they put in place the required measures for social distancing and safe management of the workers. He said it depended on the company as to how long they took to prepare their premises for it. Under the new guidelines issued by MHA for the extended lockdown period up to May 3, the government, private industries and industrial establishments operating in rural areas, outside the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities, have been allowed to operate from April 20.