Centre rejects Opposition charge that off-shore mining was affecting fishermen community
The Hindu
Union Minister denies offshore mining impact on Kerala fishermen, highlighting government policies to boost fish production and exports.
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.
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