Centre has sanctioned schemes costing ₹897.55 crore for fisheries and fishers welfare in T.N. over past five years, says Union Minister

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, was responding to a question by MP Kanimozhi NVN Somu; he listed the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, infrastructure projects, financial assistance and issuance of ID cards as some of the schemes sanctioned

Fishing boats anchored at Pamban in Tamil Nadu. Photograph used for representational purposes only | Photo Credit: L. Balachandar

Over the past five years, the Central government has approved project proposals to the tune of ₹897.55 crore for development of fisheries in Tamil Nadu, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala said on Monday.

The Minister was responding to an unstarred question raised by Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi NVN Somu on funds allocated for schemes in Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Rupala said the Centre’s share of ₹252.74 crore for various schemes, including for fishermen welfare activities, was also released in the five years till 2021-22. Moreover, fisheries infrastructure project proposals worth ₹1,091.28 crore for providing concessional finance have also been approved for T.N. under the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund.

To Ms. Kanimozhi’s question on effective steps taken to give unique fishermen ID cards to facilitate them to get financial and technical support, he said nearly 19.16 lakh fishermen have been issued with biometric ID cards and 12.40 lakh fishermen have been provided with QR coded-PVC Aadhaar cards for financial and technical aid.

The Minister also gave a detailed account of various schemes, which were chalked out for fishermen’s welfare. These include Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries; issuance of kisan credit cards to fishermen and the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). The PMMSY provides financial assistance for several facilities, including procurement of boats for better catch, nets, cold chain facilities and communication and tracking devices. It also provides livelihood and nutritional support for socio-economically backward traditional fishers and for the insurance of fishers.

On another question raised by Ms. Kanimozhi on measures for adequate skill training, latest gadgets for fishing and creation of value-added products, Mr. Rupala said PMMSY had a special focus on capacity building through programmes for various stakeholders such as fishers, fish vendors, fisheries cooperatives and members of Fish Farmer Producer organisations. These would cover topics related to fishing, aquaculture and post harvest activities. They are implemented through institutions like Krishi Vigyan Kendras and State/UT Fisheries Departments.