Home delivery as an essential service

The Maharashtra government wants ecommerce companies to deliver only essential goods; non-essential goods are barred. That prefix ‘non’, followed by a hyphen, spells a universe of arbitrary decisions, the capacity to harass, extort and delay normal business and a blight on both the economy and the exchequer. We urge the government of Maharashtra, and all other state governments that seek to limit the pandemic spread by partial lockdowns, to classify home delivery, whether by ecommerce companies or by brick-and-mortar stores, as an essential service, without getting inside the package that is delivered, whether it contains condiments, drill bits, alcohol, acrylic paint, foodstuff, widgets or gadgets.

It is difficult, in times of work from home (WFH), to make a decision on what items qualify as ‘essential’. The list is a dynamic one. Earlier, personal computers, smartphones and apparel were deemed non-essential. However, office gadgets are now obviously essential. What about those who run small food delivery businesses that cater to masses of young office-goers who normally would have lunch at the office canteen and have a maid come over and cook their evening meal? Are such app-aggregated cloud kitchens an essential service or dispensable tomfoolery? If they are integral to WFH, all their inputs would be essential, too. Already, the staff deployed to deliver products ordered online have been trained and are conversant with Covid protocols.

Brick-and-mortar stores should train their delivery agents, too. State arms can facilitate training. Consumers are conditioned and sensitised to sanitisation protocols too. Declaring Covid-compliant home delivery as an essential service will ensure that the economy sustains minimal damage.