The development of the Chellanam model fishing village project will involve an investment of approximately ₹750 crore. The report on the project is in its final stages and is expected to be submitted to the government later this month.
An interim report on the Matsya Gramam project was submitted earlier this year after consultations with all stakeholders.
Sources in the Kerala Coastal Area Development Corporation, which is collaborating with the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) to implement the project said around ₹150 crore had been allocated in the current State budget for the project, while the rest of the money would have to be sourced from financial agencies. The proposals for the development of the model fishing village will be submitted to the State Planning Board for approval before the sourcing of funds is finalised.
KUFOS Vice Chancellor Riji K. John said there would be a holistic approach to the development of the model fishing village taking into consideration the social and economic uplift of the people in the coastal village.
Chellanam is among the 10 coastal spots identified as affected seriously by sea erosion along the Kerala coast. The problems have turned more acute after cyclone Okhi hit the coast in December 2017. Dr. John said stakeholders had been consulted to elicit their views on the ways the coastal village should be developed as a model for the entire State.
Economic security, protection of life and property, sustainable agriculture and fish production, and development of social and physical infrastructure, including in healthcare, are the key issues that are being addressed in the masterplan for the village.
A ₹344-crore project to protect the Chellanam coast utilising tetrapods is progressing fast. Nearly 7 km of the most vulnerable segments of the coast will be covered by the tetrapod projects in its first phase, while groynes will be erected in the second phase.
