MARGAO
All eyes are focused on the Director of Fisheries as the department has received around 10-12 proposals for the setting up of a state-of-the-art shrimp and finfish hatchery on the sprawling 10-acre land, which once housed the defunct Benaulim prawn hatchery.
The Fisheries Director’s Expression of Interest had generated controversy as the department had sought to redevelop the 10-acre land, very close to the Benaulim beach, under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
While local traditional fishermen have staked a claim on a portion of the land, on grounds that any project should involve protecting the interests of the community, allegations were made in certain quarters that the EoI and the PPP model were nothing, but a ploy to hand over the prime land to parties for commercial exploitation under the guise of redeveloping the hatchery.
The Fisheries Director had floated the EoI with the intent to set up a
shrimp and finfish hatchery on the 10-acre land on PPP model. In fact, the EoI states that the private partner will design, build, finance and operate the proposed project on a long-term concession basis and transfer the facility to the government at the end of the concession period.
“The land would be provided on the right of way basis and the existing infrastructure will be transferred to the concessionaire on “as is where is” basis”, the notice stated.
The government has invited interested developers to furnish their expression of interest in the form of a detailed report comprising proposed conceptual design, methodology, technology and any other good industry practices in vogue globally to make it a world-class facility.
When contacted, Director of Fisheries Dr Shamila Monteiro said the department has received a total of around 10-12 proposals in response to the EoI floated by her office. “The department will now scrutinize the proposals received from the parties before taking a decision to finalize the Request for Proposal (RFP) in order to conduct the bid process. The process of scrutiny will start immediately and the RFP will be taken up after going through the proposal received from the parties,” she said.
Benaulim-based Niz Ramponkarancho Ekvott had urged the Director of Fisheries and the government to protect the interest of the local fishing community before giving the land to any private player.
In fact, the NPE had staked a claim on 4000 square meters of the hatchery and had called for a tripartite partnership, which would benefit the local fishing community in the form of a fishing activity village.
The prawn hatchery at Benaulim was Goa’s pilot prawn hatchery set up on the 10-acre land close to the sea to provide prawn seeds to the farmer and shrimp farms across the state and outside.
The hatchery, later saw a slow and gradual decline, forcing the government to shut down the production.
Around three years and a half ago, the then government headed by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had proposed an aquamarine park on the sprawling 10-acre land, a proposal which later failed to take off till date.
