Team Herald
VASCO: The Goenchea Ramponkaranchea Ekvott (GRE) on Saturday slammed the Fisheries Minister Vinod Palyekar for threatening to cut off subsidies given to the fishermen.
Slamming Palyekar, GRE General Secretary Olencio Simoes said that the statement of the minister was unreasonable and if the subsidies are cut off, then, it would completely eliminate the fishermen.
Simoes was reacting to the statement made by Palyekar that the State government would cut off the subsidy being given to trawlers because, he said, “Goans are not getting fish at reasonable rates even though Rs 108 crore worth subsidies were being given to fishermen and trawler owners.”
“If we calculate Rs 108 crore subsidies, then, in five years it comes to around Rs 22 crore per year. Now, if we consider that to the population in Goa which is 14 lakh, then, the subsidy is a mere Rs 157 per person per year and 43 paisa per person per day. But today the government has imposed 28% GST on all fishing equipments — nets, outboard motors, ice boxes, spare parts, fishing hooks, rods, nylon ropes, compasses and navigational instruments – thereby increasing the burden on the traditional fishing business which is not profitable. Hence, before making such a statement Palyekar should not ignore such important aspects,” Simoes said.
“Adding to our misery, the government levies GST on every single purchase done by the common man which has completely threatened our traditional occupation,” he said.
He said that the fishermen were not the ones controlling the fish price but the ‘fishing agent mafia’ and that the mafia enjoys the patronage of the politicians. Since the ‘fishing agent mafia’ controls the prices, he said, the government must step in and control the price.
“The mafias buy fish from the fisherman at a cheaper rate and sell it in the international market thereby depriving the Goans of reasonable and good quality fish,” he said.
For this reason, he said, cutting of the subsidies to the fishermen is not the solution to the high rates of fish.
