The government has amended the Kerala Inland Vessels Rules, 2010, by including the route permit system to avoid accidents on inland waterways in the State, Fisheries Minister K. Babu has said.
In a release here on Sunday, Mr. Babu said the norm that all vessels should be dry-docked once in two years had been amended to once in three years.
All vessels having an upper wing and fibre boats which can accommodate more than 25 persons have been reclassified from category A to category C.
Houseboats have been put in a different category. As per the amendment, boats operating in dams with less than 12 seats and others operating in water bodies with 50 seats have been exempted from stability test.
They need only conduct a test again.
New open-air deck boats need conduct only a swamp test. Considering the width of water bodies, the permissible width of boats has been fixed at 6 metres. Safety audit has been made compulsory for boat jetties. Boat safety list has been made mandatory in houseboats.
Registration fee
Registration fee has been fixed for fishing boats having more than 20 m length. Those ranging between 20 and 25 m should pay a registration fee of Rs.10,000, licence fee of Rs.5,000, and security fee of Rs.25,000. Those above the length of 25 m will have to pay a registration fee of Rs.20,000, licence fee of Rs.10,000, and security fee of Rs.50,000.
Those defaulting the payment will have to pay a fine of 10 per cent of the licence fee.
The subscription for Fish Workers Welfare Fund Board has also been fixed. Boats with a length ranging between 20 and 25 m would have to pay Rs.15,000, and those above 25 m Rs.24,000 annually, the release said.
