The fishing community, which is in a crisis over a depleting catch, is sending out distress signals to the State government requesting enhancement in diesel subsidy being given to motorised boats in proportion to the increase in the price of the fuel.
While welcoming the decision to extend the facility of granting diesel subsidy at ₹6.03 per litre to all mechanised boats and beach landing crafts (motorised boats used by traditional fishermen) instead of restricting it to those registered during the Ninth Plan period, the boat operators are insisting on payment of ₹12.93 as subsidy per litre.
Revision sought
Their contention is that the subsidy of ₹6.03 was last revised when diesel price per litre was ₹34 in 2005.
The subsidy component used to be ₹3.83 when the scheme was launched in 2002 and subsequently it was increased three times. The Centre discontinued the payment of ₹1.50 per litre towards fishermen development rebate in September, 2006.
Subsidy is given to mechanised boat operators for 3,000 litres and for beach landing crafts, it is 300 litres per month. “We are thankful to the Chief Minister for extending the subsidy to all boats registered up to April 30, 2018 and appeal to him to hike the subsidy amount so that we can get relief proportionate to increase in price of diesel,” Visaka Dolphin Boat Operators’ Welfare Association president Ch. Satyanarayana Murthy told The Hindu.
The GO issued recently by the State will extend the subsidy from 750 mechanised boats and 6,000 beach landing crafts to 1938 and 15,804 respectively.
This will benefit fishermen across the State operating from Visakhapatnam and at Kakinada, Bhavanapadu, Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam fishing harbours.
Over one-third of the 60 lakh fishermen in the State are eking out a living by taking up fishing.
The boat operators who find operational costs prohibitively high compared to their yield have been resorting to distress sale of their vessels.
Cost to exchequer
After the resumption of season post the fishing holiday, the fishermen had gone on a State-wide strike demanding increase in diesel subsidy. At that time, Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu had promised to consider the demand and it was found after a study that an increase in diesel subsidy from ₹6.03 to ₹12.93 would entail an additional burden of ₹80 crore on the exchequer.
The GO 47 issued by the Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Department stated that a budgetary allocation of ₹57 crore had been made towards diesel subsidy to fishermen.
The GO also notifies the sanction of 83 new HSD outlets in the nine coastal districts to meet the demand for diesel in view of extension of subsidy facility to more number of boats.