Y Kikheto Sema with Neitho-o Kuotsu during the Fisheries
Secretaries Conference 2025 and National Workshop on Harnessing Technology and
Innovation in Aquaculture, held in New Delhi on May 23.
- DIMAPUR — Citing
outdated cost norms and structural challenges faced by fish farmers, Nagaland
has called for an overhaul of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), the
central government’s flagship fisheries scheme.
An update from DIPR stated that Y Kikheto Sema, Principal
Secretary for Law & Justice, Fisheries & Aquatic Resources, made
this pitch during the Fisheries Secretaries Conference 2025 and National
Workshop on Harnessing Technology and Innovation in Aquaculture held in New
Delhi on May 23.
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- “He said that the current funding of INR 8.40 lakh per
hectare under PMMSY is outdated and insufficient compared to the latest NPWD
Schedule of Rates pegged at INR 25 lakh per hectare.
- “Highlighting the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters
like landslides and floods, he advocated for the reintroduction of provisions
for the renovation and reclamation of old ponds and water bodies, which were
part of earlier schemes but are missing from the current PMMSY framework,” it
stated.
- Sema urged the Union government to adopt an integrated
cluster approach to agriculture and allied sectors to improve productivity and
marketability and promote agro-aqua-eco-tourism in rural areas.
- He further stressed the need for administrative and
contingency cost inclusion for effective monitoring, a standard feature in
other flagship programmes.
