Now Reading: Only 2.1% of fishers got aid during ban, House panel says
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Only 2.1% of fishers got aid during ban, House panel says
A parliamentary panel has criticised the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, the Union government's flagship welfare scheme for traditional fisherfolk, for abysmal coverage. Between 2020 and 2025, only 5.95 lakh fishers, about…
The Story in Brief
A parliamentary panel has criticised the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, the Union government's flagship welfare scheme for traditional fisherfolk, for abysmal coverage. Between 2020 and 2025, only 5.95 lakh fishers, about 2.1% of India's estimated 2.8 crore fishers, received financial assistance during the annual 61-day fishing ban, the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing said.
The panel called the performance 'dismally low' and rejected the government's argument that low registration explained the gap. It recommended raising the annual assistance to at least Rs 10,000 without requiring a beneficiary contribution, citing inflation. The fisheries department told the panel it had prepared a proposal for enhanced aid from 2025-26, but did not specify the amount. The panel also flagged that only 287 of 379 selected fishing harbours or landing centres had been completed by June 2025.
The Indian Opinion
The numbers are damning. After five years and a Rs 20,000-crore outlay, a flagship scheme has reached just one in 50 intended beneficiaries. The panel's call for Rs 10,000 per fisher per season is reasonable, but the real test is whether the fisheries department can fix the distribution machinery, not just the cheque size. Why does the government first blame low registration and then fail to register people? The 2025-26 budget allocation will settle the question.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
