New Delhi: The Union government’s flagship welfare initiative for fisherfolk has come under criticism. A parliamentary panel has noted that only about 2.1% or 595,000 of the country’s estimated 28 million fishers got financial help during the annual fishing ban between 2020 and 2025.
Every year a 61-day fishing ban is enforced along India’s coastal waters to protect fish during their peak breeding and spawning seasons. This ban period is not the same for east and west coasts.
The Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing, according to a HT report, stated that the performance of the livelihood and nutritional support component under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) was “dismally low.”
Under the scheme, the government gives Rs 3,000 annually to each of the enrolled beneficiaries. The beneficiary contributes Rs 1,500, taking the total annual assistance to Rs 4,500. This is disbursed by the respective states or Union territories.
The panel, however, noted that it was “very disheartening” that such a small proportion of fisherfolk had benefited. The case was so even after the scheme being operational for five years. The panel also declined the government’s argument that low coverage was primarily because many were not registered under the scheme.
The panel cited, considering the current economic situation and inflation, that the assistance should be increased to at least Rs 10,000 per fisher per year without any annual contribution from fishermen.
