VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy released the fifth installment of the compensation to the fishermen, who lost their livelihood due to the ONGC pipeline. A total of Rs 161.86 crore was released to 23,458 fishermen at the rate of Rs 69,000 to each one, and it amounts to Rs 11,500 per month for the last six months.
The Chief Minister released the amount directly into the bank accounts of beneficiaries with the click of a button from his camp office at Tadepalli on Tuesday. Though he was scheduled to virtually inaugurat e Juvvaladinne fishing harbour, Jagan said he postponed it as he wants to inaugurate it in person to give a big boost to the blue economy, and help the fishermen community along the long coastline of the State.
Out of the total 23,458 beneficiary families, 16,408 are living in BR Ambedkar Konaseema district, and the remaining 7,050 in Kakinada. Chief Minister thanked ONGC for its proactive support in payment of the compensation.
Taking a dig at the previous TDP regime for the Rs 78 crore dues to 16,554 affected families, he said, “Chandrababu Naidu government ignored the situation. The GSPC issue was resolved and Rs 78 crore was paid to 16,000 and odd fishermen’s families by our government. Later, GS PC was taken over by ONG C and in a couple of years, it had cleared the dues after the issue was brought to its notice,” he said.
Highlighting the initiatives taken by his government for the welfare of fishermen, he said in the last five years 1.07 lakh fishermen’s families have been provided Rs 538 crore. The government has increased ex gratia to the fishermen, who lose their lives while fishing at sea to Rs 10 lakh, and the subsidy of Rs 9 per litre of diesel is being provided to them at the time of purchasing the fuel itself.
“To ensure that there are no migrations among the fishermen community in search of livelihood, 10 new fishing harbours, six fish landing centres, four ports and other infrastructure are being developed,” he elaborated.
