Financial Assistance for Purchase of Fuel (Petrol) to the Fishermen for Operation of Out Board Motors

What is the fishermen's petrol subsidy in Goa?

Financial Assistance for Purchase of Fuel (Petrol) to the Fishermen for Operation of Out Board Motors is scheme number 3 in the state schemes list published in the citizen charter of the Directorate of Fisheries, Government of Goa. It is one of the most widely used schemes the Directorate runs, because it addresses a recurring running cost rather than a one-time asset purchase.

Goa's small-scale fishing fleet is built around the canoe with an outboard motor (OBM). A traditional fisherman registers a wooden or FRP canoe, fits a small outboard motor of a few horsepower, and works the estuaries and the near shore. Petrol is the single largest running expense in that operation, and its price moves independently of the price the fisherman gets for the catch. This scheme cushions that gap at a flat rate per litre.

The Directorate frames the wider purpose of its state schemes as improving the socio-economic conditions of fishermen and providing infrastructure facilities towards their needs, keeping pace with welfare measures. This scheme sits alongside the Directorate's other canoe-level schemes; assistance for constructing or purchasing a wooden or FRP canoe, for buying gill nets, for buying an outboard motor of 2HP to 5HP, and for life jackets and lifebuoys.

How much subsidy is paid?

The Directorate publishes the quantum in two tiers.

Three things follow from how this is worded.

1. The rate is fixed per litre, not as a percentage. Rs 30 per litre applies regardless of what petrol costs on the day, so the subsidy does not automatically move with the pump price.
2. The limit is on consumption, not on money. The ceiling is expressed as a maximum consumption of 1,000 or 1,100 litres per year, and the rupee figure follows from it.
3. The extra entitlement for SC and ST fishermen is 100 litres, worth Rs 3,000 a year, and it is claimed by producing a caste certificate.

Payment is against actual consumption, verified through the petrol consumption passbook and the society or association certificate, so an entitlement of 1,000 litres is a ceiling, not a lump sum.

Who can and cannot claim the petrol subsidy?

You can claim if:

• Your fishing canoe is registered under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 and the rules framed thereafter.
• You are a member of a Registered Fisheries Co-operative Society or Association, or an individual. The Directorate's eligibility clause covers both.
• You possess a valid fishing net licence issued under the Goa Fisheries Rules, 1981.
• You possess a valid fishing vessel licence issued under the Goa, Daman and Diu Marine Fishing Regulation Rules, 1982.
• You operate a petrol outboard motor.

You cannot apply, and are not eligible to claim, if:

• Your canoe is not registered under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.
• Either the net licence or the vessel licence has expired. Both are named and both must be valid.
• Your motor runs on diesel rather than petrol. The scheme is a petrol subsidy for petrol OBMs.
• You cannot produce original petrol bills from an authorised dealer. Copies and informal receipts do not satisfy the requirement.
• You have no petrol consumption passbook and no consumption certificate from a registered society or association countersigned by field officials.
• You are claiming the SC or ST limit of 1,100 litres without a caste certificate.
• You have already drawn the full annual limit for that year.

How to apply for the fishermen's petrol subsidy

1. Register your fishing canoe with the Directorate of Fisheries under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, if it is not already registered, and keep the Vessel Registration Certificate safe.
2. Keep your licences current. Renew the fishing net licence under the Goa Fisheries Rules, 1981 and the fishing vessel licence under the Goa, Daman and Diu Marine Fishing Regulation Rules, 1982 before they lapse. The Directorate handles both renewals through the Fisheries Officer or Fisheries Surveyor posted in your block or jetty.
3. Maintain the petrol consumption passbook. This is maintained by the Registered Fisheries Co-operative Society, the Association or the individual, and it is the running record of your fuel purchases through the year.
4. Buy petrol only from an authorised dealer and keep the original bills. These originals are what the claim is assessed against.
5. Get the consumption certificate. Ask your Registered Fisheries Co-operative Society or Association to certify the actual consumption of fuel for fishing purposes. It must be duly verified and countersigned by the field officials of the Directorate.
6. Apply online. The citizen charter directs the applicant to apply through the quick link "Fishermen Petrol Subsidy" on the departmental website www.fisheries.goa.gov.in. Upload the vessel registration certificate, the original petrol bills, the Aadhaar copy, the society or association certificate, the petrol consumption passbook and, if applicable, the caste certificate.
7. Follow up with your block Fisheries Officer. The block-level officers are the ones who verify and countersign, so they are the first point of contact if the online application does not move.

How do I check the status of my claim?

The Directorate of Fisheries works through a block and jetty structure, with a head office at Panaji. To trace a petrol subsidy claim:

1. Start with the Fisheries Officer or Fisheries Surveyor of your block or jetty — they countersign the consumption certificate and process the local verification.
2. Escalate to the Directorate of Fisheries head office, Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Panaji-Goa, phone 0832-2224838.
3. The Directorate's control room can be reached on 0832-2425263 and by email at controlroomfish.goa@gmail.com.

Because the claim is built on records that others hold. The society's countersigned certificate, the dealer's bills, the passbook: keep your own copies of everything you submit.

What are the common reasons a claim is rejected?

• An expired fishing net licence or fishing vessel licence. Both must be valid at the time of claim, and this is the most frequent avoidable failure.
• The canoe is not registered under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.
• Photocopied or informal petrol bills instead of originals from an authorised dealer.
• No countersignature by the field officials on the society or association's consumption certificate.
• A gap in the petrol consumption passbook, so that the claimed litres cannot be reconciled with the recorded purchases.
• Claiming above 1,000 litres without a caste certificate, where the higher 1,100-litre entitlement does not apply.
• Missing Aadhaar copy, which the citizen charter lists as a required document.
• Bank account details that do not match the applicant's records, which delays the credit even after sanction.

Where do I raise a grievance about this scheme?

The Directorate of Fisheries citizen charter states that all services will be courteously extended by all staff members, and that any dissatisfaction or complaint about a service or its standards can be registered with the Department's Grievance Redressal Officer. Grievances can also be lodged by email at dir-fish.goa@nic.in. The Directorate commits to acknowledging all complaints and communicating the final action taken within 30 days.

The citizen charter names the Deputy Director of Fisheries as the Public Grievance Officer. The head office is at Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Panaji-Goa, telephone 0832-2224838.

Under the Right to Information Act, the Directorate has designated Assistant Public Information Officers across its sections, blocks and jetties, and the Deputy Director of Fisheries-I (General & Aquaculture) is the First Appellate Authority for the General Branch and the South Zone, Central Zone and Offshore/Enforcement sections.

Key facts to remember

• The petrol subsidy is scheme 3 in the state schemes list of the Goa Directorate of Fisheries citizen charter.
• The rate is Rs 30 per litre.
• The annual limit is 1,000 litres for general category and 1,100 litres for SC and ST fishermen.
• Maximum benefit is Rs 30,000 a year, or Rs 33,000 for SC and ST fishermen.
• The canoe must be registered under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.
• A valid net licence (Goa Fisheries Rules, 1981) and vessel licence (Goa, Daman and Diu Marine Fishing Regulation Rules, 1982) are both required.
• Original petrol bills from an authorised dealer and the petrol consumption passbook are the core of the claim.
• Apply online through the "Fishermen Petrol Subsidy" quick link on fisheries.goa.gov.in.
• Grievances go to dir-fish.goa@nic.in with a 30-day response commitment.