Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today called upon the progressive Fish farmers to install subsidized Solar Pumps for the fishery activities at their respective fish farms to make their farming far more financially viable. Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s office said that Mr. Badal was presiding over the maiden meeting of the recently constituted State Fishery Development Board to boost the fish farming in Punjab especially in the water logged areas in southern belt having brackish water.
Mr. Badal asked the concerned departments to work out the modalities to exempt the fish farming activities from the commercial tariff being levied on electricity consumption.
The Board also approved to constitute a 9-member Executive Committee headed by Financial Commissioner, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairy Development to ensure effective implementation of the decisions taken in the Board besides monitoring various developments in this sector for the promotion of the fishery in a big way. The other members of the committee would include; VC GADVASU, nominee of Principal Secretary Finance, Additional Chief Executive officer of Punjab livestock Development Board, Director Fisheries besides two progressive members each from large and small scale Fish Farmers. The logo of the board was also approved in the meeting. Apart from this, the board also discussed the steps to be taken for heralding ‘Blue Revolution’ in the state.
The Chief Minister emphasized the need to promote fish farming on a mass scale as the traditional agriculture was no more remunerative and the only solution was to shift towards allied farming activities like fishery, dairy and bee-keeping etc in order to enhance the income of farmers manifold. He said the state government had planned to set up 14 Modernized Government Fish Seed Frames, out of which seven would be set up at RaykeKalan (Bathinda), Mallwal (Ferozpur), Hayatnagar (Gurdaspur), Dosanjh Nabha (Patiala), Mohi (Ludhiana), Faridkot and Rajasansi (Amritsar) at a cost of Rs. 18.34 crore during the year 2014-15, whereas the other seven would be taken up in the next year. He further said that the state government was also providing 50 percent subsidy for setting up new fish farms in the state.
Terming Andhra Pardesh as one of most developed states in fish production, Mr. Parkash Singh Badal said that recently he had impressed upon his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu to depute a team of fishery experts to visit Punjab for sharing their vast experience and rich expertise related to the fish hatcheries, fish rearing and post harvest technology. The Chief Minister thanked Mr. Naidu for dispatching a special team comprising Dr. TV Raman, Dr. P. Sai Baba, Dr. Ravi Rama Krishna and Prof. Padam Kumar, who were now in the state on three-day study tour. The team members also apprised the Chief Minister through their Power Point Presentation on the need for bringing improvements in the field of fish farming besides giving vital inputs in this regard to promote fish farming on scientific lines.
Prominent amongst those who were present on the occasion included Chairman Punjab State Farmers Commission Dr. GS Kalkat, Financial Commissioner Animal Husbandry Mr. G Vajralingam, Principal Secretary Finance Mrs. Vini Mahajan, Secretary Expenditure Mr. Jaspal Singh, Special Principal Secretaries to the Chief Minister Mr. K.J.S. Cheema and Dr. SK Raju, VC GADVASU Dr. VK Taneja besides other senior officers of the State government and Progressive Farmers.