Govt insists it is ‘supportive’, says clearance in process, but won’t commit to date for tendering work
Hostile navigation conditions at the mouth of River Sal due to sand formation.
MARGAO
Will the recent incidents of fishing boats running aground at the mouth of River Sal in a space of one month, posing danger to the lives and safety of fishermen, serve as a wakeup call to the government to expedite the process of obtaining Environmental Clearance (EC) and pave way for the construction of training wall at the river mouth?
Well, this question was posed to Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Harlankar to shed light on the status of the process initiated by the Fisheries Department to obtain EC for the proposed training wall. In his reply, the Minister said the Fisheries Department has tendered the work of obtaining Environmental Clearance for the training wall project.
This is not the first time that the Fisheries Minister and the Fisheries Director Dr Shamila Monteiro have stated that the Fisheries Department has set in motion the process to obtain the EC for the project. In fact, every time the fishing stakeholders operating from the Cutbona fishing jetty as well as Velim MLA Cruz Silva had raised the issue of the training wall, they have received the reply that a consultant is on the job to obtain the EC.
“The training wall process is under process. We have tendered the work of obtaining the EC. After the EC is obtained, the Fisheries Department will float the tender for the construction of the training wall,” he said.
The Minister, however, did not inform when the EC will finally come and when the work on the training wall will be tendered by the department.
While saying the government is supporting the training wall project at the River Sal mouth, the Minister reminded that the work was once tendered by the government, but the same was stopped by some people. “We are totally for the training wall project. We understand the difficulties faced by the boat owners due to the hostile navigation issues due to the sand bar. We will take up the project at the earliest,” he said.
The Minister, however, hastened to add that though the issue of sand bar falls in the jurisdiction of Captain of Ports, the Fisheries Department will take up the training wall project.
Control room set up to track outside boats
MARGAO: Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Harlankar has said that the Fisheries Department has set up a system in the office to monitor the presence of outside fishing boats in the territorial waters of Goa.
When the media drew his attention to fishing boats from the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Maharashtra fishing in Goan waters, the Minister said the coastal police and the fisheries officials are closely monitoring the presence of outside vessels. “The Fisheries Department has set up a control room equipped with facilities to trace vessels from other states fishing in Goan waters. The facility allows us to closely monitor the presence of outside vessels in our waters,” he added.
Minister rules out capping price of fish, says rate regulated by demand, supply
MARGAO: Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Harlankar has ruled out the possibility of the government capping the price of fish, saying the fish rate is regulated by the market demand and supply factor.
He further said the government cannot regulate the fish price, saying the government has no control over the fishing business run by boat owners. “We provide subsidies only to the traditional fishermen. The boat owners are not covered under the scheme. As such, the government has no control over the business of the boat owners,” he said, while responding to a media query whether the government will intervene to regulate the skyrocketing fish price.
He added: “Fishing business is dependent on a host of factors. Besides luck, the hard work of the fishermen and the crew members also counts in the activity. The fishermen should get a good rate for their catch, otherwise they may abandon the business if it is not economical and profitable.”
The Fisheries Minister further said that fish rate is controlled by the market demand and supply, pointing out that while the catch is bumper, the prices fall and vice versa when there is poor catch. “Presently, the fish price is on a higher side due to the recent cyclonic weather conditions. The price will come down when fishing gains momentum,” he added.
