A delegation consisting of 60 fishworkers from Maharastra, Goa, Tamilnadu, Gujarat and other States in India, headed by Mr. Rambhau Patil, Chairperson, National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) and Mr. M. Ilango, General Secretary, NFF, were in the country’s capital for the past three days. The delegation met with the Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Sharad Pawar, and Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr. Veerappa Moily, on the 29th-30th of January and expressed their concerns as follows:
1. Erroneous classification of the Fishermen cooperative societies as Bulk Purchasers – the recent price hike of Rs. 10/- to Rs. 15/- per liter for bulk purchase of diesel will severely hit the small and traditional fishing communities who collect diesel from the petrol pumps of the marine fisheries cooperative societies. These societies purchase diesel in bulk quantities not for open business or profit but for helping the fishing communities by catering the fuel near their workplaces on the coast. It would be gross injustice to treat these cooperatives as bulk purchasers as against the bulk purchasers of diesel. Due to sudden hike in diesel price the Fishworkers livelihood all over 10 coastal states have been stopped by majority of the fishermen.
2. The small and traditional fishing communities operating from beach landing on the coasts are not being able to get the benefit of tax exemption or reimbursement.
3. The diesel subsidy is only available on purchase of diesel from petrol pumps, the small and traditional fishing communities operating from beach landing centres that are generally away from the petrol pumps cannot get access to the same and hence they have to depend on private retailers.
And hence their demands are as follows:
1. Immediate intervention in the matter to ensure that fisheries cooperatives catering fuel to sea going fishermen get the diesel at retail rate as the Fishworkers Cooperatives and Fisheries all over the Country constitute only 1.87% of the entire Bulk Purchase category allotted by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
2. Implementing a National Policy for Fishing that deals with the issues in total quantum regarding fishing, supply mechanisms, pricing for fishing units, safeguards against overfishing and excess capacity, protection of interests of small scale fishermen and trade related issues (e.g., anti- dumping duties by importing countries) at the earliest.
After listening to the issues and concerns of the fishworkers, the Ministers gave a positive assurance and also conveyed that they will implement changes in the Policy that would especially favour the fishworkers and would address their concerns.
This positive assurance and response by the Ministers is greatly welcomed by the NFF and a constant follow-up would be done on the same to attain a closure to this issue. The leaders and members of NFF decided that they would continue to strike and would not go for fishing as well as purchase diesel from private and other petroleum companies as long as this policy change is not implemented.