The Tripura Government has formulated ‘Water Body Lease Policy -2021’ for better maintenance of the water bodies under various departments of the government. Besides, aiming to augment fish production, the government has decided to recruit 589 Matsya Mitra across the State.
Addressing a press meet in Agartala, Fisheries Minister Mever Kumar Jamatia said, “There are 1502 water bodies in the State which are under the supervision of different government departments like Fisheries, Panchayat, Education, Security etc. However, the government has formulated ‘Tripura Water Body Lease Policy 2021’ to ensure better maintenance of these water bodies. This is a first-of-kind initiative in the State”.
Jamatia said, as there was no policy earlier, it was difficult in managing the resources of the water bodies- besides, preservation and improvements of those were also difficult. Now onwards as per the policy, all the water bodies would be controlled by the fisheries department for smooth management of the water body resources.
On another note, the Minister said, Tripura secured the top position among the 11 hilly states in India for excellence in the Fisheries sector. As a recognition of the achievement, the Central Ministry of Fisheries awarded Rs 10 lakh to the State on November 21 – the day of World Fisheries Day.
He said, “Presently we are importing 23 percent fish from outside the state as well as from Bangladesh to meet the market demand. We have already introduced aquaculture techniques like- Biofloc, Cage culture and production of fish fingerlings seeds to augment the production and reduce the gap. The new policy will help us to meet our goal of fulfilling the gap.”
The Minister is hopeful to meet the goal of fulfilling the gap within the next two to three years.
Apart from introducing different aquaculture techniques, the Government has taken steps to construct multiple check dams in different parts of the state under the JICA project. With the coordination of the Forest and Fisheries departments, the initiative of farming fish in those check-dams has already been started, he added.
He also advised the people of Tripura to consume fish as per the WHO guideline. According to the WHO guidelines, only 11 kg fish per person per year consumption is good.
In this connection, he said now Tripura is in the second spot in terms of consuming fish with about 25 kg per year among all states of India. Andaman Nicobar islands are at the top with 35 kg per person consumption.
Meanwhile, Secretary of Fisheries department Deepa D. Nair highlighted several developmental initiatives taken by the fisheries department.
She said, “The state government will recruit a total of 589 Mathsha Mitras across the state to meet the goal of increasing the production of fish.”
Joint Director of Fisheries department- Abni Debbarma also attended the press conference.
(Courtesy Tripura Times)
