Kolkata, Sep 21 (IANS) West Bengal on Monday formally joined the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), a Union Government initiative to reduce infrastructural gaps and strengthen the fisheries sector.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari met Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh in Newtown, Kolkata, to finalise the decision.
After the one-and-a-half-hour meeting, Adhikari announced that West Bengal had been brought under the PMMSY scheme.
He said, “There is a lot of potential in the state’s fisheries sector. We have discussed it repeatedly. Today I thank Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh in particular. He listened to our concerns and handed over Rs 9 crore for fisheries development. From today, fishermen will get loans as needed along with other benefits.”
Adhikari accused the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government of depriving fishermen by not allowing West Bengal to join the scheme earlier.
Singh seconded the Chief Minister, saying the Union Government’s efforts had stalled due to non-cooperation from the previous regime.
Adhikari added that coastal areas, including the Sundarbans, would be further developed.
“We have seas and rivers in South Bengal. Fishermen there have their own problems. Following our proposals, the Union Minister has approved six Amrit Sarovars in Bankura and Purulia districts,” he said.
Singh noted that “a lot of work pending for the last five years has been cleared in the last four months.”
–IANS
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