VIJAYAWADA: Refuting the allegations of Opposition Leader N Chandrababu Naidu and BJP State president Somu Veerraju on the GO 217 related to auction of fish tanks, Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Seediri Appalraju said the state government issued it to improve the living standards of fishermen.
Speaking to the media in Srikakulam Monday, the minister said Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has taken the decision to auction fish tanks to free fishermen from investors and middlemen and ensure an income of Rs15,000 to everyone in fishermen society. He said TDP and BJP are in secret alliance and they are writing letters against the GO only for their political interests but not for the betterment of fishermen.
“Somu Veerraju has been misleading fishermen through his letter that all the fish tanks will be auctioned,’’ he said and clarified that only 27 fish tanks in Nellore district, as a pilot project, will be auctioned and 30 per cent of revenue earned through auction will be credited to the concerned fishermen society to provide a regular income of Rs15,000 to each fisherman.
He said there are 27,363 tanks and ponds across the state of which 582 are of an area above 100 hectares and added that 337 out of 582 ponds are given on lease to 253 fishermen cooperative societies and 23,920 ponds and tanks are under village panchayats, which means 26,781 tanks don’t come under the GO.
He said the state government has been providing financial aid of Rs10,000 under Matyakara Bharosa benefiting 1.19 lakh fishermen and questioned what Naidu did for them during his tenure. He said the government was providing Rs 9 subsidy on diesel and Rs10 lakh compensation for any accidental death of fishermen and added that it has been constructing four fishing harbours in the state and questioned if Naidu had built at least a single jetty.