Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy released Rs. 161.86 crore benefiting 23,458 fishermen families displaced by the ONGC pipelines in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema and Kakinada districts.
An amount of Rs. 69, 000 each would be directly credited into their accounts at the rate of Rs.11,500 per month for six months. This is the fifth tranche that the financial compensation is being paid to the families that have lost their livelihood due to the laying of ONGC pipelines. So far, the Government has released Rs. 647.44 crore towards financial assistance for the displaced families.
Releasing the amount with the click of a button at the Camp Office on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said that the ONGC and the officials have become proactive in extending the financial assistance to the affected fishermen families.
The Government’s decision would benefit 16,408 and 7,050 families in Ambedkar Konaseema and Kakinada districts respectively, he said, adding that it had also repaid Rs.78 crore owed by the GSPC (Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation) during the TDP regime which had neglected more than 16,000 affected fishermen families.
Stating that Government has been striving for the welfare of the fishermen families, he said that so far Rs. 538crore has been paid to more than1.07 lakh families under the YSR Matsyakara Bharosa as they could not go fishing during the banned period between April 15 and June 15.
Government has also enhanced the financial assistance under the scheme from Rs. 4000 in TDP regime to Rs. 11,000 in an unprecedented manner after YSRCP came to power. Subsidy on diesel was also increased to Rs.9 per litre from Rs.6 and Rs. 130 crore was paid on 20, 000 boats so far.
Government has introduced the system of paying Rs. 5 lakh as compensation and depositing Rs. 5 lakh in bank accounts within a period of six months to the families of the fishermen who die while fishing and this has benefitted 175 families.
Government has also paid Rs. 3500 crore in subsidy benefiting 40,850 families of aqua farmers as they are supplied electricity at Rs. 1.50 paise per unit and so far, Rs. 4913 crore was spent on these schemes.
He said the Government has also been taking steps to develop the blue economy alongside the 974 km long coastline building 10 fishing harbours, six fish land centres and four new ports.
Explaining that he wanted to inaugurate the Juvvaladinne fishing harbour virtually, he said he had decided against it as he wanted to visit the harbour and interact with the fishermen personally.