Maharashtra Under-Performed The Most In Restricting Covid-19 Spread And Saving Lives: Economic Survey 2021

In a setback to the claims of chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, the national Economic Survey stated that Maharashtra has massively underperformed in tackling and containing the coronavirus pandemic, reports The Times of India.

While comparing Maharashtra with states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar which have large populations similar to Maharashtra, the survey noted that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have high population density compared to Maharashtra yet have recorded far fewer cases.

“Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat have restricted the case spread the best, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have saved most of the lives, while Maharashtra has underperformed the most in restricting the spread of cases and in saving lives,” the survey has said.

“Highly populous and densely-populated states like UP and Bihar have managed the pandemic well. This ultimately held India in good stead. In terms of deaths, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have managed it effectively. India restricted the Covid-19 spread by 37 lakh cases and saved more than one lakh lives,” the report has stated.

While almost all States and Union Territories are showing a declining trend in the number of cases and deaths due to Covid19, Maharashtra continues to report a large number of cases.

Recently, the Modi government has decided to depute two high-level multi-disciplinary teams to Kerala and Maharashtra to collaborate with the state health authorities in instituting public health measures for Covid19 management.

At present, these two States ruled by opposition parties represent around 70 per cent of active Covid19 cases in the country.