Centre clears Rs 285- crore fishery projects in States

- Central share is Rs143.07 cr under PMMSY

- DoF’s PAC appraised project outlay Rs827.81 cr

- It recommended approval of Rs643.3-cr projects to 8 States

- Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, etc

New Delhi: The Centre’s Department of Fisheries (DoF) has approved the proposals of three State governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Telangana and the Andaman and Nicobar Administration with a total outlay of Rs285.44 crore.

In this outlay, the Central share is Rs143.07 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), including the proposal for establishment of a multipurpose seaweed park in Tamil Nadu at a total cost of Rs127.71 crore, official sources told Bizz Buzz.

The Project Appraisal Committee (PAC) of the DoF also appraised the project outlay Rs827.81 crore and recommended approval of Rs643.3 crore of projects under the PMMSY to eight States namely Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. These include State Action Plans of Kerala, Mizoram, West Bengal, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra.

Under the PMMSY, the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA) is striving to ensure that the merchandise is anti-biotic free. It inspects farms and hatcheries. The Central Institute of Coastal Engineering for Fishery (CICEF) finalizes the modernization and upgrade plans for the fishing harbours.

The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) conducts training, awareness, and outreach activities. The Fishery Survey of India (FSI) is conducting the exploratory survey programmes for fisheries resources and the marine mammal survey programme in and around the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone.

The DoF’s entire apparatus is geared to make the recently approved and other projects successful, sources said.

The central government had launched the PMMSY in April 2020 “to bring about Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development of fisheries sector in India.” It had an outlay of Rs20,050 crore in the fisheries sector, comprising Rs9,407 crore as the Central share, Rs4,880 crore as States’ share, and Rs5,763 crore of beneficiaries’ contribution.

The PMMSY is scheduled to be implemented over a period of five years till 2024-25 in all States and Union Territories.