Mukhyamantri Machhuara Samman Nidhi Yojana

What is Mukhyamantri Machhuara Samman Nidhi Yojana?

Mukhyamantri Machhuara Samman Nidhi Yojana is a Himachal Pradesh state scheme that pays Rs 3,500 a year to reservoir fishermen to cover the income they lose during the annual closed fishing season. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu launched the scheme on 26 July 2026, and the Department of Fisheries, Himachal Pradesh implements it.

The reasoning behind the scheme is straightforward. Every year the state closes its reservoirs to fishing so that fish can breed and stocks can recover. That closure is essential for the fishery itself, but for the families whose entire livelihood is reservoir fishing it means weeks with no earnings. Mukhyamantri Machhuara Samman Nidhi Yojana turns what was previously an uncompensated hardship into a recognised entitlement.

About 3,700 fishermen families are expected to benefit each year, and the state government will spend approximately Rs 1.20 crore annually on the scheme.

Key features

• Rs 3,500 a year per eligible fisherman, paid by Direct Benefit Transfer.
• Covers the annual closed fishing season, when reservoir fishing is suspended.
• Five reservoirs covered: Gobind Sagar, Pong Dam, Kol Dam, Chamera and Ranjit Sagar.
• Routed through Fisheries Cooperative Societies, which know their own members.
• Approved at district level by the Deputy Director or Assistant Director of Fisheries.

Which reservoirs does Mukhyamantri Machhuara Samman Nidhi Yojana cover?

The scheme covers fishermen associated with five reservoirs in Himachal Pradesh:

These are the state's major reservoir fisheries, and they are where organised commercial fishing by cooperative society members takes place. Fishermen working rivers, streams, farm ponds or trout units are not the target group for this particular scheme, which is specifically framed around reservoir fisheries and the reservoir closed season.

Who is eligible for Mukhyamantri Machhuara Samman Nidhi Yojana?

You can apply if:

• You are an active fisherman engaged in reservoir fisheries in Himachal Pradesh.
• You hold a valid fishing licence issued by the Department of Fisheries for the reservoir you work.
• You are a member of a registered Fisheries Cooperative Society.
• You have an NFDP registration number on the National Fisheries Digital Platform.
• You have an Aadhaar card and a Parivar Register entry, and an active bank account for DBT.

You cannot apply if:

• You do not hold a valid fishing licence. An expired licence puts you outside the scheme until it is renewed.
• You are not a member of a registered Fisheries Cooperative Society. Membership is both an eligibility condition and the practical route through which the application is filed.
• You are an angler or recreational fisher, not a livelihood fisherman.
• You are a fish trader, transporter or vendor who does not fish yourself. The scheme compensates for lost fishing income during the ban, not for downstream trade.
• You fish waters outside the five listed reservoirs.
• You are not a resident of Himachal Pradesh, since the Parivar Register requirement ties the benefit to a Himachali household.

How to apply for Mukhyamantri Machhuara Samman Nidhi Yojana

1. Confirm your fishing licence is valid for the current period, and renew it at the district fisheries office if it has lapsed. Nothing else in the application works without it.
2. Get your NFDP registration number if you do not have one, through your cooperative society or the district fisheries office.
3. Go to your registered Fisheries Cooperative Society and ask for the Mukhyamantri Machhuara Samman Nidhi Yojana application. Applications are filed through the society, not directly with the department.
4. Submit the application with your fishing licence, society membership certificate, NFDP registration number, Aadhaar card, Parivar Register extract and bank passbook.
5. Let the society verify your particulars and forward the case. Fisheries Department officials then verify it independently.
6. The district Deputy Director or Assistant Director of Fisheries grants the final approval, after which Rs 3,500 is credited to your bank account by Direct Benefit Transfer.

How do I check my payment status?

1. Ask your Fisheries Cooperative Society secretary, who holds the list forwarded from the society and usually learns of sanctions first.
2. Contact the district Deputy Director or Assistant Director of Fisheries, who is the sanctioning authority for your case.
3. Check your bank passbook or SMS alerts for a DBT credit of Rs 3,500 from the Department of Fisheries.
4. Call the Directorate of Fisheries at 01978-224068 or write to fisheries-hp@nic.in if the society and the district office cannot trace your case.

Keep the acknowledgement your society gives you. When a benefit passes through a society, a department office and a district sanctioning authority, the acknowledgement is what lets any of the three locate your file quickly.

What else does Himachal Pradesh do for reservoir fishermen?

Mukhyamantri Machhuara Samman Nidhi Yojana is one part of a wider set of measures for fisher livelihoods in the state. Himachal Pradesh has fixed a minimum support price of Rs 100 per kg for reservoir fish, and provides a subsidy of up to Rs 20 per kg where market prices fall below that support price. A direct income floor for the catch itself, separate from the closed-season honorarium.

The Department of Fisheries also runs the Mukhyamantri Carp Matsya Palan Yojana, a scheme for the construction of carp fish ponds including input cost, the Group Accident Insurance Scheme for fishers under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, and the Rajiv Gandhi Swarojgar Yojana route for fisheries enterprises. Departmental welfare schemes, the Reservoir Fisheries Management Policy and the standard operating procedures for these schemes are published on the department's website at himachal.nic.in/fisheries.

A fisherman applying for the Samman Nidhi should ask at the same time whether they are enrolled in the group accident insurance, because both run off the same licence and society records and it costs nothing extra to check.

Why does the closed season exist, and when is it?

The annual closed season is imposed so that fish can breed without disturbance and stocks can regenerate. Without it, sustained fishing through the breeding period would steadily shrink the fishery that the same families depend on the following year.

The exact dates of the closed season are notified by the Department of Fisheries under the Himachal Pradesh Fisheries Act, 1976 and the Himachal Pradesh Fisheries Rules, 2020, and the notification applies to the reservoirs. Rather than relying on a remembered date, check the current year's notification with your cooperative society or the district fisheries office, since the closure is what the Rs 3,500 payment is anchored to.

Why do applications get rejected?

• Fishing licence expired or not renewed. This is the first thing a verifying officer checks.
• Not a member of a registered Fisheries Cooperative Society, or membership lapsed for non-payment of society dues.
• No NFDP registration number, or a number that does not match the applicant's Aadhaar details.
• Name mismatch between the Aadhaar card, the Parivar Register entry, the licence and the bank account. Get these aligned before applying — it is the most common cause of a DBT failure.
• Bank account inactive or not Aadhaar-seeded, so the transfer bounces even after sanction.
• Duplicate claim within the same family or from two societies, which is held for verification.
• Applicant does not actually fish, discovered during the society's or the department's verification.

If a case is returned, fix the specific document named and resubmit through the same society quoting your earlier acknowledgement, so the file is revived rather than restarted.

Where do I complain about a Machhuara Samman Nidhi case?

• Directorate of Fisheries, Himachal Pradesh, Matsya Bhawan, Changer Sector, Bilaspur-174001.
• Phone: 01978-224068. Email: fisheries-hp@nic.in.
• Deputy Director or Assistant Director of Fisheries of your district, who is the sanctioning authority.
• CM Helpline 1100 and the state's e-Samadhan grievance system for a complaint against a government department.
• The Department of Fisheries is covered by the Himachal Pradesh Public Services Guarantee Act, 2011, and its notification is published on the departmental website.

No fee is charged for applying under Mukhyamantri Machhuara Samman Nidhi Yojana. The application goes through your cooperative society and the district fisheries office, and no agent or middleman is authorised to charge for getting a name onto the beneficiary list.