Natural Calamity Relief to Fishermen of State

What is Natural Calamity Relief to Fishermen of State?

Natural Calamity Relief to Fishermen of State is a compensation scheme run by the Department of Fisheries, Government of Goa. It exists because a fishing family in Goa can lose its entire productive asset. A canoe, an outboard motor, a set of nets, or a mechanised trawler, in a single night of cyclonic weather, with no commercial insurance route that would price such a risk affordably.

According to the Department of Fisheries Citizen's Charter, the scheme provides financial assistance to active fishermen who contribute to the Fishermen Corpus Relief Fund, whose fishing vessels are damaged or lost due to natural calamities. The Corpus Fund contribution is what makes this a contributory relief scheme rather than an open-ended disaster payment, and it is the first thing the department checks.

Compensation runs across four heads; loss of life or total disability, loss or damage to a fishing canoe, loss or damage to a fishing vessel, and loss or damage to fishing nets, with a separate ceiling for each. In every asset category the amount actually paid is the actual value as assessed by an authorised surveyor, subject to the ceiling. The ceiling is not a flat payout.

The scheme's most demanding feature is its timeline: the claim must be submitted within one week of the incident. A fisherman dealing with the aftermath of a storm has very little time in which to start the paperwork, which is why knowing the document list in advance genuinely matters.

Who is eligible for natural calamity relief?

You can claim if:

• You are a fisherman in the State of Goa.
• You have been contributing to the Fishermen Corpus Relief Fund.
• Your non-motorised or motorised canoe, or mechanised fishing vessel or trawler, is registered with the Department of Fisheries.
• Your fishing vessel, engine, motor or gear was damaged or lost due to a natural calamity, floods, cyclones, tsunamis, or accidental fire.
• Your loss or damage has been verified by the competent authority.

You cannot apply if:

• You have not been contributing to the Fishermen Corpus Relief Fund, in which case you are not eligible for relief under this scheme. The statement of contribution is a mandatory document and there is no route around it.
• Your vessel is not registered with the Department of Fisheries.
• You are a defaulter of the department.
• You were operating a mechanised vessel with trawl nets during the ban period. This is an explicit disqualification, and it is checked.
• Your loss was not caused by a natural calamity. Ordinary wear, mechanical failure or a collision is not covered.
• You file more than one week after the incident.

How much compensation is paid?

Loss of life or disability

Loss or damage to a fishing canoe

Loss or damage to a fishing vessel

Loss or damage to fishing nets

For every asset category the amount paid is the actual value as assessed — by an authorised marine surveyor for canoes and vessels, and by an authorised fisheries surveyor, marine surveyor or talathi for nets: limited to the ceiling shown. A fisherman whose Rs 3,00,000 canoe is destroyed does not receive Rs 10,00,000 because that is the top of the table; he receives the assessed value up to the canoe ceiling of Rs 2,00,000.

What documents are required?

On a missing person: the missing report, death certificate, post-mortem report or police report should state that the body of the victim is not traced or found after one year from the date of the incident.

How to apply for natural calamity relief

1. Act immediately after the incident. The claim must reach the department within one week, so begin the documentation on the same day if you can.
2. Report to the police and obtain the FIR and the panchanama report covering the incident.
3. Print the prescribed application form from the Department of Fisheries website at fisheries.goa.gov.in, fill in all mandatory fields, and paste a passport-sized photograph, signed across if required.
4. Arrange the loss assessment. Get the damage assessed by an authorised marine surveyor for a canoe or vessel, or by an authorised fisheries surveyor, marine surveyor or talathi for nets, and obtain the inspection report in original.
5. Obtain the weather report from the Meteorological Department for the day of the incident, and assemble your registration certificate, fishing licence, net licence, netbook, biometric card, Corpus Fund contribution statement and bank passbook copy with the mandate form.
6. Submit the duly filled and signed form with all documents to the Department of Fisheries, Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Patto Colony, Panaji, Goa 403521, or to the official posted at a BDO office or a departmental sub-office listed on the Fisheries website.

Why claims fail under this scheme

• Filed after one week. This is the most unforgiving condition in the scheme. Late claims are not entertained.
• No Corpus Fund contribution. Relief flows from the Fishermen Corpus Relief Fund, and a fisherman who has not been contributing has no claim on it.
• Vessel unregistered. Registration with the Department of Fisheries is a precondition, and an unregistered canoe or trawler cannot be compensated.
• Trawl netting during the ban period. Operating a mechanised vessel with trawl nets in the ban period disqualifies the applicant outright.
• Defaulter status. Outstanding dues to the department block the claim.
• Inspection report not in original. A photocopy of the inspection report will not be accepted.
• No surveyor assessment. Without an authorised assessment there is no figure for the department to sanction, since compensation is assessed value subject to a ceiling.
• No weather report. The Meteorological Department report for the day is what connects the loss to a natural calamity.
• Missing person documentation incomplete. For a loss of life claim where the body was never found, the report must state that the body was not traced after one year from the incident.

Where to get help and how to raise a grievance

• Directorate of Fisheries, Government of Goa, Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Patto Colony, Panaji, Goa 403521. Telephone 0832-2224838 (office) and 0832-2227780 (Director). Email dir-fish.goa@nic.in. Website fisheries.goa.gov.in.
• BDO offices and departmental sub-offices, applications may also be submitted to the departmental official posted at these offices. The list is on the Fisheries website Contact Us page.
• Grievance Redressal Officer; any dissatisfaction or complaint about the service or its standards can be registered with the department's Grievance Redressal Officer, or lodged by email at dir-fish.goa@nic.in. All complaints are acknowledged, and the final action taken is communicated within 30 days.

There is no application fee. The application form is downloadable free from the Department of Fisheries website, and a fisherman worried about the one-week window should keep the registration certificate, licence, netbook and Corpus Fund statement together in one place before the monsoon rather than after a loss.

How to check your application status

This is an offline scheme, the claim is submitted on paper at the Department of Fisheries or a BDO office, so there is no online tracking ID or portal dashboard to log into. Status has to be followed up directly with the office that received the claim.

1. Note the date and place of submission. Keep a copy of the filled application and, if the receiving office issues one, an acknowledgement slip or diary/inward number. Quote this number in every follow-up so the office can locate the file quickly.
2. Call the Directorate of Fisheries at 0832-2224838 (office) or 0832-2227780 (Director) and ask for the status of the claim by the applicant's name, village and the date the incident and the application were filed.
3. If the claim was submitted through a BDO office or a departmental sub-office, follow up there first, since that office forwards the file to the Directorate for processing and sanction, and can tell you whether it has already been sent forward.
4. Ask specifically whether the surveyor's assessment is complete. Since the amount payable depends on the loss assessment report, a claim commonly sits at the assessment stage before it can move to sanction, and this is the step worth asking about by name.
5. Visit in person at the Directorate of Fisheries, Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Patto Colony, Panaji, Goa 403521, if a phone follow-up does not get a clear answer, carrying the acknowledgement copy and identity proof.
6. Email dir-fish.goa@nic.in for a written status update if calling or visiting is not practical, referencing the application date and the incident date in the message.
7. Escalate to the Grievance Redressal Officer if the claim has been pending well beyond a reasonable processing time with no update. Complaints raised this way are acknowledged, and the department states that final action is communicated within 30 days.

Since sanctioned relief is credited through the bank mandate submitted with the claim, a bank statement showing (or not showing) the credit is also a practical way to confirm whether a claim has actually been cleared, separate from asking the office for a verbal status.