Chhattisgarh cabinet approves new fisheries policy
Ponds and reservoirs having water area more than 10 hectares will be given on lease for 10 years through open tender
Free fishing in anicuts and deep pools with water area less than 20 hectares
Provision to reduce the number of non-tribal members in Tribal fishermen cooperative society from 33 per cent to 30 per cent
Fish seed certification act will be formulated
Registration and license mandatory for fish seed sellers and producers
Raipur, 14 July 2022
In a significant decision, the Chhattisgarh cabinet has approved a New Fisheries Policy for the state. The approval was given in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mr.Bhupesh Baghel at his residence office here today. New Fisheries Policy aims to boost fish productivity by bringing the entire water area available in the state under fisheries. In the New Fisheries Policy, a provision has also been made to give a ‘productivity bonus’ to the fishermen of the state. This amount of productivity bonus will be 25 per cent of the amount received by the Chhattisgarh State Fish Federation from the auction of water bodies and barrages. Provision has been made in the new policy to encourage ‘alankari’ and ‘gambusia’ fisheries in the state.
Under this new policy, ponds and reservoirs of an average water area of 0 to 10 hectares will be given for a 10-year lease by the Gram Panchayat as per rules. Under the Panchayati Raj system, allocation of ponds and reservoirs of the water area of more than 10 hectares and less than 100 hectares on lease for 10 years by inviting open tender for fish farming will be processed and decided by Janpad Panchayat; for more than 100 hectares and 200 hectares by Zila Panchayat; for reservoirs and barrages of more than 200 hectares and up to 1000 hectares will be allotted on lease by the Fisheries Department. Reservoirs and barrages having a water area of more than 1000 hectares will be under the control of the Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Fish Federation. Income received on the allocation of reservoir and barrage on lease by the Fisheries Federation, 50 percent will be payable in the revenue account of the Fisheries Department and 25 percent of the remaining 50 percent will be given as a productivity bonus to the fishermen engaged in fishing at the local level.
According to the provision of the New Fisheries Policy, the anicuts built on the rivers and the deep pools located on them, which are more than 20 hectares, will be provided to the fishermen group, Fisheries Cooperative Societies, women self-help group, fishermen for a fixed time on lease as per rules. A River and Dehwar Cooperative Society will be formed for the fishermen living near anicuts and ‘Daho’ of villages. The free fishing in the river’s anicuts and deep pools with an area of less than 20 hectares will remain the same. All the water bodies of the urban area will remain under the urban local bodies. The ponds and reservoirs of urban areas will be allotted on lease as per the policy of the government.
As per this policy, allocation of reservoirs/ponds with an average water area of 0 to 10 hectares will be given on a priority basis to fishermen groups, Fisheries Cooperative Society, local women’s group associated with Livelihood Mission, and individual fishermen. Diploma, graduate or postgraduate persons in fisheries and unemployed youth will be considered as fishermen and fish farmers. The fish rearing in the ponds constructed under Gauthans will be done by the Gauthan Committee or the group identified by them. Panchayats can increase the lease amount every two years by a rate of 10 per cent, which will be used in the development works of public interest.
A provision has also been made to reduce the percentage of non-tribal members in tribal cooperative society from 33 to 30 per cent, and the chairman post of Fisheries Cooperative Society in Scheduled Caste notified area will be reserved for Scheduled Tribes. For the Vice-Chairman, preference will be given to the member of the fisherman community. In each village, the ponds under public use will be marked by the Collector or his representative not below the post of revenue sub-divisional officer. Fishing will be completely restricted in such identified ponds so that villagers do not face any inconvenience.
Under this policy, Fish Seed Certification Act will be enacted in the state for quality control and certification of fish seed, which in turn will encourage fish seed production, and also information about seed production technology will be made available. It will be mandatory for the producers and sellers of fish seeds to register with the fisheries department and get a license from the department. To encourage the construction of hatcheries as well as to promote it in the private sector, grants will be made available as per the policy of the government. The unused and closed mines located in the state will be developed and given on lease to the local unemployed for fish farming. In order to promote fish farming in large mines, an initiative will be taken to establish cages. The Department of Fisheries will be a fully authorized agency for the implementation of the ‘cage culture’ scheme in irrigation reservoirs, they will be able to give the irrigation reservoir on lease for a long period.
