‘Samudra Sathi’ scheme: State receives over 56K applications
Kolkata: The Fisheries department received over 56,000 applications from fishermen for the ‘Samudra Sathi’ scheme aimed at providing livelihood support during the fishing ban period from mid April to mid June.
The four districts from where fishermen have applied for availing benefits of the scheme are East Midnapore, South 24-Parganas, North 24-Parganas and Howrah.
The scheme was announced by state Finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharjee during the state Budget in February following which the modalities were framed and accordingly notified. “We have received applications for the 2023-24 financial year till April 15 and the response has been quite good with 56,187 applications coming,” a Fisheries department official said.
The highest applications 31,645 were received from South 24-Parganas, followed by 22,685 from East Midnapore, 989 from Howrah and 688 from North 24-Parganas. Around 22,672 applications were eligible while 813 were non-eligible. The rest of the applications are being examined. The official added that fresh applications will be received later for the financial year 2024-25. Under the scheme, financial assistance of Rs 5,000 per month for two months will be given to each registered fisherman in the coastal districts. As much as Rs 200 crore has been allocated in the state Budget for this scheme. The state expects to cover 2 lakh odd fishermen.
Bijan Maity, secretary of the Fishermen’s Association in Kakdwip said.
“Fishermen of the coastal districts go far into turbulent seas to earn their livelihood. During the fishing ban period for two months, from mid-April to mid-June, their livelihood gets affected. We are thankful to our Chief Minister for introducing such a scheme entailing financial support during the ban period.”
Under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), the Centre provides Rs 4,500 (Rs 1,500 each for 3 months) to fishermen during the period when there is either a ban on fishing or is a lean season for them.
In the PMMSY, the beneficiary has to pay Rs 1,500 to get Rs 4,500. But in the state’s scheme, a fisherman doesn’t need to pay a penny and the total assistance is Rs 10,000
(Rs 5,000 for two months).