Tamil Nadu government would receive a sum of ₹420 crore from a recently-created Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund (FIDF) for developing three fishing harbours in the State, an official statement said on Monday.

These harbours will come up in Tharangampadi in Nagapattinam district, Thiruvottriyur Kuppam in Tiruvallur district and Mudhunagar in Cuddalore district and will have safe landing and berthing facilities for a large number of fishing vessels plying in the area. The facilities are expected to augment fish production in the regions, facilitate hygienic post–harvest handling of fish, stimulate growth of fisheries related economic activities, leading to further employment opportunities, the statement said.

Towards this, the TN government entered into a tripartite memorandum of understanding with the Department of Fisheries, Government of India and Nabard. Speaking on the occsaion, Giriraj Singh, Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said FIDF is a dedicated fund with a total outlay of ₹7,522 crore for creating infrastructure in the fisheries sector.

He urged the coastal States to pay attention to deep sea fishing, post harvesting, cage culture and export promotion. FIDF provides concessional finance to the eligible entities, cooperatives, individuals and entrepreneurs for development of identified fisheries infrastructure.

Apart from Nabard, National Cooperatives Development Corporation and all scheduled banks will serve as Nodal Loaning entities to provide concessional finance under the Fund. FIDF will give interest subvention up to 3 per cent per annum to NLEs for providing the concessional finance at the interest rate not lower than 5 per cent per annum.

According to the statement, proposals worth ₹1,715 crore received from various State governments and other eligible entities have been recommended for funding. It also includes a proposal received from the Andhra Pradesh government for fishing harbours in the State.

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