Asserting that off-shore mining activity was yet to begin, Union Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, rejected the Opposition’s charge that it was impacting the fishermen community of Kerala.
| Photo Credit: AICC
Asserting that off-shore mining activity was yet to begin, Union Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Tuesday (April 1, 2025) rejected the Opposition’s charge that it was impacting the fishermen community of Kerala.
The Minister made the comment in the Lok Sabha while replying to a Calling Attention Motion, moved by senior Congress member K. C. Venugopal on the “hardships faced by the fishermen community”.
The Minister said that out of 13 offshore blocks, only three were in Kerala and that they were beyond 12 nautical miles, which came under the exclusive economic zones. “When the mining has not yet started, how you are saying that it is impacting the fishermen?” he asked.
Earlier, Mr. Venugopal, while moving the motion, said India was one of the world’s largest fish-producing countries. “The sector provides food, nutrition, and livelihood to millions—yet what do we give back to those who sustain it?”
He said that Indian fishermen contribute to a booming industry—1.24% of India’s Gross Value Added (GVA) and 7.28% to agricultural GVA in 2018-19. With an average growth of 7.53% in fish production, India’s marine fisheries potential was immense.
The Congress MP said that during the Kerala floods in 2018, the community played a key role in helping the people of the State but the government has now forgotten them.
He said that the coastal zones of India were among the most productive ecosystems in the world—yet they face existential threats from sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and flooding.
“The government must answer a fundamental question: Who controls our coasts? Who is monopolizing our marine wealth while the traditional custodians are pushed aside? The government’s sell-off of strategic ports and resources to a single corporate entity compromises the national interests. Thousands of poor fishermen are being displaced, their livelihoods snatched away, their futures stolen,” he said.
He also asked whether the government has done any impact assessment study on off-shore mining and added that it will have “severe implications” for the community.
Helping fishermen
Listing out steps taken by the NDA government, Mr. Singh said policies like the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) are helping the fishermen of the country. The country’s fish production has increased to 184.02 lakh tonnes from 95.7 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 and exports have also doubled from ₹30,212 crore in 2013-14 to ₹60,523 crore in 2023-24, he added.
Responding to DMK’s TR Baalu’s concern over Tamil Nadu fishermen being arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy, the Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have taken up the issue with Sri Lanka.
Participating in the discussion, Congress’ Shashi Tharoor raised the issue of coastal erosion and said that 64 square kilometers of land have been lost to the sea. Mr. Tharoor and Arvind Sawant from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) also raised the issue of availability of subsidised kerosene for the fishermen.
The other members who spoke on the motion include N K Premachandran of the RSP, Congress’ Hibi Eden, Samajwadi Party’s Rama Shankar Rajbhar and DMK’s Kanimozhi.
Published – April 01, 2025 11:44 pm IST
