The two experts engaged by the state government to formulate a draft comprehensive Chilika fishing policy informed the Orissa High Court on Wednesday that it can be readied by the end of August this year.
The court was monitoring progress in formulation of the draft policy as part of the adjudication of the PIL it had registered on protecting the ecology of Chilika and Bhitarkanika following a Supreme Court order in 2017.
The state government has engaged Dr V Sampath, former advisor Ministry of earth sciences (Government of India) and Dr Ritesh Kumar, director of Wetland International (South Asia).
The two experts submitted a written note which said, “The stakeholder consultation and field visits to select villages in the four zones of Chilika are planned from the first week of July. Consultation with the state government officials from different link departments including CDA will also be taken up simultaneously and is expected to be completed by mid-July.”
Parallelly, available data on the ecosystem health of Chilika, its various features to fisheries policy and the likely impacts of climate change are also being compiled with support of Chilika Development Authority (CDA) and other research agencies, the experts said. Taking it on record, the division bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho adjourned hearing on the matter to after eight weeks.
The court had earlier requested Dr Sampath to join court proceedings on Wednesday. Appearing through video conference, Dr Sampath said the inputs received from all stakeholders on the policy initiatives will be reviewed.
A detailed analysis of various issues raised by fishermen and non-fishermen on Chilika lagoon and government functionaries will be carried for inclusion in the policy. Once this is done, the draft comprehensive fishing policy for Chilika could be readied by end of August 2024 and submitted to the state government for further consultation with stakeholders for finalisation, Dr Sampath said.
The government can then follow the prescribed procedures for approval of the policy by the state legislature and notification, which might also take a month or two, he added.