The Noida administration passed an order on Saturday, asking landlords to collect rent from their worker-tenants only after a month, amid reports of migrants undertaking the journey to reach their native places on foot during the 21-day nationwide lockdown.
Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate (DM) B N Singh said the order comes into effect immediately.
In his order, the DM said it had come to light that in the present situation of a complete lockdown, several landlords were forcing migrant workers to pay the house rent, leaving them with no other choice but to vacate the place.
'Such migrant labourers and workers are forced to come down on roads and go to their hometowns and villages on foot, which increases the chances of the coronavirus spreading even more.
'Also there are migrants living in Noida and Greater Noida, who are involved in production and distribution of essential services, but they too are being forced to leave for their homes. This would also impact production and distribution of essential services and the overall situation,' Singh said.
'Invoking the special powers vested in me as the district magistrate, I order that no landlord will demand rent for accommodation from their tenants, who are labourers or workers working in any of the companies, industries, factories and offices in the district, for the next one month,' the DM stated in the order.
Violation of the order will prompt legal action against a landlord, including a jail term of up to two years or a penalty or both, Singh said.
People can use the administration's integrated control room number -- 0120-2544700 -- to report any such incident happening with migrant tenants or non-compliance by landlords, he added.
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Kejriwal urges migrant workers leaving Delhi to stay back
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday appealed to migrant workers leaving the national capital to stay back, even as he said that his government has arranged for buses to transport them.
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia also made a similar appeal, while stating that the Delhi government has deployed 100 buses for people attempting to walk home from the city.
'The governments of UP and Delhi have arranged buses. Still, I appeal all to remain where they are. We have made arrangements for stay and food.
'Please stay at home. Do not go back to your village, otherwise the objective of the lockdown will fail,' Kejriwal said in a Hindi tweet.
A Delhi Transport department officer said buses were deployed after a large number of people started walking to their home states.
The DTC and cluster buses will drop them at points along the border with UP where buses from that state will carry them ahead, he added.
'100 buses of Delhi government and nearly 200 buses of UP government are transporting people trying to leave Delhi on foot. Yet I appeal all to follow the lockdown. It's a solution to control the effect of coronavirus. There is threat of coronavirus on venturing out,' Sisodia tweeted.
