Arunachal Pradesh Agriculture Minister Gabriel D. Wangsu has urged the Centre to contemplate separate fisheries policy for the Himalayan region, while reasoning that the needs and topography in these States are completely different from the rest of India.
The Centre may also like to revisit and revise the unit cost of all construction works considering the high-cost index and remoteness, he said. Wangsu, who also holds the portfolio of Fisheries, was addressing the Fisheries Summer Meet 2024 at Madurai in Tamil Nadu on Friday, which was attended by Union Minister for Fisheries Dr Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Ministers of State Dr. S.P. Baghel and George Kurien, besides Fisheries Ministers from various states.
Stating that Arunachal Pradesh is one of the pioneer states in cold water fisheries in the entire Northeast India, Wangsu demanded a substation of Directorate of Coldwater Fish Research to fulfil the need for proper R&D facilities for documentation of breeding and culture protocol of these species of fishes available in the State.
“Arunachal Pradesh is a powerhouse of the country and more and more hydropower stations are coming up, thereby creating large water bodies which can be judiciously exploited for fish production in mass scale,” Wangsu said while seeking a comprehensive technology package for its integrated development and management with adequate financial support.
He also sought mapping of resources employing geospatial techniques for preparing resource inventory and optimum utilization, and one time grant for strengthening, and up-gradation of existing seed producing infrastructure of both cold and warm water calibrating to its optimum capacity so as to overcome recurring shortage of quality seed in desired quantity.
“Since working period is limited because of the long rainy season, rationalization of subsidy from the current four installments to two equal installments against all schemes shall definitely expedite perfect implementation of the schemes and timely utilization of fund,” he observed. He further requested the Centre for extension of PMMSY scheme for another 2 years with additional fund and launch new scheme to compensate against for the loss caused due to delinking fisheries from RKVY scheme, an official release informed here on Saturday.