Bhubaneswar, December 17: The Central Government has approved several proposals worth Rs 1298.25 crore moved by the Odisha Government under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme Component of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).

This was informed by Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Rajeev Ranjan Singh (Lallan Singh) in response to a question asked in the Lok Sabha.

“The Department of Fisheries, Government of India has so far accorded approvals to the proposals of Government of Odisha for development of fisheries and aquaculture including infrastructure at a total cost of Rs 1298.25 crore under PMMSY. This includes development of one fishing harbour, 38 ice plants/cold storages, livelihood support to 68,000 fishers’ families, insurance coverage of 53,91,593 fishers with an average of about 1.08 lakh annually in the State of Odisha,” said Singh.

Under the PMMSY scheme, identification of the beneficiaries effectively covering the beneficiaries in various districts and extending the benefits of PMMSY to the eligible beneficiaries is done by the Government of Odisha, he informed.

The Department of Fisheries, Government of India is presently implementing Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and only 100 coastal fishermen villages are identified as of now for development as Climate Resilient Coastal Fishermen Villages under this ongoing scheme.

The PMMSY inter-alia supports for creation of cold chain facilities. Under this scheme, during the last five years (FY2020-21 to FY2024-25), proposals for development of 734 cold storages and ice plants, 27,301 units of fish transportation facilities such as 10924 motorcycles with ice boxes, 9412 bicycles with ice boxes, 3915 auto rickshaws, 1265 Live fish Vending units, 1406 insulated trucks and 379 refrigerated trucks, 6410 fish Kiosks, 202 fish retail fish markets, 21 wholesale fish markets have been approved.