VIJAYAWADA: Rajya Sabha MP Mopidevi Venkataramana flayed the Opposition parties for misleading fishermen by propagating false information on GO 217 regarding open auction of fish tanks and said the state government has issued the order only to free fishermen from middlemen and capitalists and improve their living standards.
Speaking to the media Tuesday, the MP said only a nominal amount is being given to the fishermen society members and added that the state government issued GO 217 only to ensure Rs 15,000 revenue to each member. He said TDP and BJP are conspiring against the GO only for their political interests but not for the betterment of fishermen.
The MP said only 27 fish tanks in Nellore district will be auctioned as a pilot project and 30 per cent of revenue will be credited to the concerned fishermen society. The State government will look into extending the project to other districts only after analysing the results in Nellore.
He said the opposition parties are misleading that the GO will be implemented across the state and asserted that it is confined to Nellore district as of now. He questioned the silence of a section of fishermen community leaders when Naidu made comments against them during the previous government.
Meanwhile, alleging that the YSRC has issued government order 217 for ruling party sympathisers and aides to loot aqua wealth, BJP state vice president and national director of Coir Board G Chandramouli demanded that the said order be immediately scrapped. He also alleged that fisheries minister Seediri Appalaraju lied by claiming that the order would be only applicable to Nellore district and called the latter politically ignorant.
In a press meet in Vijayawada on Tuesday, the BJP leader said the BJP-Jana Sena alliance would launch a stir if the government fails to revoke the order. “If the GO is only for the Nellore region, why has it not been mentioned in the order? Although the annexure mentions only about 27 lakes in Nellore district, it is clear that the fisheries minister lied.”