AHMEDABAD: Under the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme for fishermen, only 11 persons in Gujarat have made claims in the last three years, but none of these claims have been settled, according to the statistics given by the Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department in the Lok Sabha.
The cumbersome documentation process has been blamed for the government’s failure to settle the claim under the PMMSY scheme.
The PMMSY offers Group Accident Insurance Scheme (GAIS) coverage to all fishermen. The insurance coverage comprises Rs 5,00,000 against accidental death or permanent entire disability, Rs 2,50,000 for permanent partial disability, and hospitalisation expenses in the event of an accident for an amount of Rs 25,000.
Two MPs on August 1 asked in the Lok Sabha about the number of fishermen covered by the National Scheme of Welfare of Fishermen as well as claims received and settled during the previous three years.
According to statistics given by the Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department for the period between July 26, 2021, and July 25, 2022, one fisherman from Gujarat applied under the PMMSY scheme but the claim has not been settled. From July 26. 2022 to July 25, 2023, ten people applied under the PMMSY scheme but not a single claim has been settled.
Meanwhile, for the rest of India, as many as 405 fishermen applied under the PMMSY scheme from July 26, 2021, to July 25, 2022. Of this, 279 claims have been settled. From July 26, 2022, to July 25, 2023, 305 fishermen applied, and 86 claims were settled.
Feroze Sidi, a Member of the Fisherman Association in Dwarka, also a former Congress corporator, said: “The document process in the PMMSY scheme is so complex that if people die accidentally at sea, and if there is a single letter difference in any government document in the token given for claim by the fisheries department, then they will ask many clarification documents.”