Scheme for Ornamental Fisheries — Haryana

What is the Ornamental Fisheries Scheme in Haryana?

Scheme for Ornamental Fisheries is a Department of Fisheries, Haryana programme that funds the breeding, rearing and sale of aquarium fish as a commercial activity. The scheme appears on the State DBT Portal, dbtharyana.gov.in, as "Scheme for the Ornamental Fisheries" under the Department of Fisheries, and its individual unit components are delivered through the Antyodaya-SARAL portal at saralharyana.gov.in, with the substantive funding flowing through the ornamental fisheries components of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana.

Ornamental fisheries, the trade in guppies, mollies, goldfish, koi, angelfish, gouramis and similar aquarium species, is a small but genuinely different corner of Indian aquaculture. Unlike table-fish farming, it does not need acres of pond. A serious ornamental unit can run on a few hundred square metres of covered space with tanks, cement cisterns and a reliable water supply. That makes it one of the few fisheries activities realistically open to a family with a backyard rather than a farm, and to women entrepreneurs and urban applicants who have no agricultural land at all. India has historically imported a large share of its aquarium stock, and both the Government of India and Haryana treat domestic ornamental production as import substitution as well as employment.

Haryana has no coastline, so the state's ornamental components are built entirely around freshwater species.

What does the scheme fund and at what rate?

The Fisheries Department, Haryana publishes the ornamental components with their project costs and subsidy rates. The headline component is:

At those rates, a general category applicant building the full Rs 25 lakh unit receives Rs 10 lakh in subsidy and finds Rs 15 lakh, while an SC or woman beneficiary receives Rs 15 lakh and finds Rs 10 lakh.

Alongside the integrated unit, Haryana lists these ornamental and allied components:

• Freshwater ornamental fish brood bank. A facility that maintains and supplies quality broodstock to other units, so that small breeders are not dependent on inbred or imported stock.
• Medium-scale ornamental fish rearing unit (freshwater); delivered as a distinct service on the Antyodaya-SARAL portal, with subsidy support of up to 60 per cent under PMMSY.
• Backyard mini recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) units, small water-recycling units suited to constrained spaces.
• Recreational fisheries, a related PMMSY line under which angling and fisheries-based recreation facilities are supported.

The department also offers technical support that costs nothing: training and refresher courses, site analysis and planning, guidance on quality seed and feed, disease monitoring and fish health management, and help with marketing.

Who is eligible for the Ornamental Fisheries Scheme?

A person or body qualifies if:

• The applicant is a resident of Haryana proposing to set up the ornamental unit within the state.
• The applicant has land or premises, owned, or leased for a period covering the project — where the tanks, cisterns or ponds will be built, with a dependable water supply and power connection.
• The applicant submits a Detailed Project Report matching a notified ornamental component and its unit cost.
• The applicant can raise the beneficiary contribution of 60 per cent for the general category or 40 per cent for SC and women beneficiaries, from own funds or a bank loan.
• The applicant holds Aadhaar, a Family ID and an Aadhaar-seeded bank account.
• Where the enhanced 60 per cent rate is claimed as an SC beneficiary, the applicant holds a valid Haryana caste certificate.

A person cannot apply if:

• The applicant has no secure right over the premises. An informal arrangement over someone else's shed or yard will not clear scrutiny.
• The proposal does not match a notified component or unit cost. The scheme funds defined units, not open-ended requests.
• The applicant cannot demonstrate the beneficiary share. This is a partial subsidy, never a full grant.
• The applicant claims the 60 per cent rate without being SC or a woman.
• The same asset has already been subsidised under another central or state fisheries scheme.
• The proposed unit is outside Haryana.

What documents are required?

How to apply for an ornamental fisheries unit in Haryana

1. Meet the District Fisheries Officer and discuss which ornamental component suits your space and budget. An integrated breeding and rearing unit, a medium-scale rearing unit, a backyard mini RAS unit or a brood bank.
2. Secure the premises and the water supply. Get the ownership papers or the lease deed in your own name for a period long enough to cover the project.
3. Prepare a Detailed Project Report showing the number and size of tanks or cisterns, the species you intend to breed, the water and filtration plan, the power arrangement, the total cost against the notified unit cost, the subsidy claimed at 40 or 60 per cent, and the source of the beneficiary contribution.
4. Register and log in on saralharyana.gov.in using your Family ID and mobile number.
5. Select the Fisheries Department ornamental fish service matching your component and open the application form.
6. Fill the form and upload the documents: Aadhaar, Family ID, land or lease papers, the DPR, bank passbook and, where the enhanced rate is claimed, the caste certificate, then submit and save the SARAL reference number.
7. Allow the site inspection. Departmental staff visit the proposed premises before the case goes to the sanctioning committee.
8. Build the unit after sanction, exactly as approved, retaining every invoice, bill and dated photograph of construction.
9. Get the completed unit verified by the department and then watch for the subsidy credit by Direct Benefit Transfer into your bank account.

How to check the status of an ornamental fisheries application

1. Log in to saralharyana.gov.in and use Track Application Status with the SARAL reference number issued at submission.
2. Use the Track Now feature on the SARAL home page, which works with the reference number and a mobile number without logging in.
3. Contact the District Fisheries Officer for the internal stage of the file, particularly after the site inspection.
4. Escalate to the Fisheries Department, Haryana, Bays No 31-32, Sector 4, Panchkula, whose contact details are published at harfish.gov.in/contact-us.

The department lists a service delivery period of within 50 days for ornamental fish unit services routed through SARAL.

Why ornamental fisheries applications get rejected

• No secure title or lease over the premises where the unit is to be built.
• Project report incomplete, species, tank layout, water source or costing missing, or the cost pitched above the notified unit cost.
• Beneficiary contribution not evidenced; no loan sanction and no proof of own funds.
• Caste certificate missing where the 60 per cent rate has been claimed.
• No assured water supply or power at the site, which the inspection will pick up because ornamental units depend on continuous aeration and filtration.
• Duplicate assistance for the same asset under another scheme.
• Unit built differently from the sanctioned DPR, found at completion verification.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT release fails.

Practical points before starting an ornamental unit

Ornamental fish farming is a market-driven business, not a subsidy business. The species that sell, the price they fetch and the buyers who will take regular supply differ sharply from table fish. Before committing to a Rs 25 lakh unit, a first-time applicant should visit an operating ornamental farm, speak to aquarium retailers in Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Faridabad, Panchkula and Ambala about volumes and prices, and take the Fisheries Department's training course.

Two operational realities also matter. First, ornamental units need uninterrupted power for aeration and filtration. A power failure of a few hours can wipe out a tank, which is why solar support and backup power are worth building into the project report. Second, ornamental fish are sold live, so packing and transport capability is part of the business rather than an afterthought.

Where to get help

• District Fisheries Officer in your district, component selection, project report guidance, inspection and file movement.
• Fisheries Department, Haryana, Bays No 31-32, Sector 4, Panchkula.
• harfish.gov.in, the department portal, which publishes the ornamental components with unit costs and subsidy rates.
• saralharyana.gov.in, the Antyodaya-SARAL portal, for applying and tracking.
• CM Window, the SMGT portal, the Jan Samvaad portal and CPGRAMS, linked from the Fisheries Department's citizen corner, for grievances.

Applying is free apart from any portal service charge shown on SARAL. No agent can promise a sanction, and the subsidy reaches the beneficiary only after the department verifies the completed unit.