Inland fishermen, especially those in the Rayalaseema region, are crying foul over their exclusion from the scheme that is aimed at compensating them for the loss of livelihood during the fishing ban period.
The government on Thursday launched two schemes for the fishermen – YSR Matsyakara Bharosa and YSR Matsyakara Nestham. While the former provides for payment of ex gratia of ₹10 lakh to the next of kin of fishermen who die at sea, the latter envisages payment of compensation of ₹10,000 (upped from ₹4,000) to the fishermen families during the ban period, which usually is between April and June.
According to the Fisheries Department officials, the inland fishermen are eligible to avail benefits only under the insurance scheme.
Taking exception to this, the Rayalaseema fishermen are demanding that the government extend the compensation scheme to inland fishermen too.
“There are 1.60 lakh inland fishermen in Rayalaseema and they are not covered under the compensation scheme. The annual inland fishing ban starts from July 1 and lasts 62 days,” said B.S. Naveen Kumar, State director of the Andhra Pradesh Fishermen Corporation.
‘Budgetary constraints’
“We had brought the issue to the notice of the Ministers during the TDP rule. We have approached the Ministers in the YSRCP government as well. All of them have cited budgetary constraints for excluding them from the scheme,” he said.
The government would need ₹600 crore if all the fishermen were to be given compensation, he added.
“We are seeking only ₹5,000 as compensation during the ban period. Even that too is being denied to the inland fishermen,” Mr. Kumar said.
