Reservoir Fisheries Development Scheme (Stocking Based Fisheries Development in Reservoirs)

What is the Reservoir Fisheries Development Scheme?

The Reservoir Fisheries Development Scheme: described by the Directorate of Fisheries as Stocking Based Fisheries Development in Reservoirs: is a programme of the Jharkhand Directorate of Fisheries under the Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department. The idea behind it is simple. Jharkhand's reservoirs are large, permanent bodies of water that were built for irrigation and power, not for fish, and left alone they support only a thin natural fish population. The scheme changes that by stocking fingerlings into the reservoirs at government cost, letting them grow in open water, and allowing local fishers to harvest them.

According to the Directorate, fingerlings are stocked in reservoirs across the state for a better catch, displaced villagers of the reservoirs do the fishing, and the programme has given very good results with production from reservoirs having increased.

That reference to displaced villagers is the social heart of the scheme. Families whose land went under water when a reservoir was built lost their farming livelihood permanently. The Directorate's stated objective is to provide a solid base for livelihood to the displaced population of reservoirs through fish production, which makes reservoir fisheries a rehabilitation programme as much as a production programme.

How large is the resource?

The Directorate publishes the state's aquaculture resource position, and it puts the reservoir scheme in context:

Reservoirs are by far the largest single water resource in the list, which is why stocking them has a bigger effect on state fish production than any other single intervention. The Directorate records projected annual fish demand at about 1,40,000 metric tonnes against production of roughly 1,16,000 metric tonnes in 2015-16, and projected fish seed demand of about 425 crore seeds, so the gap the reservoirs are meant to fill is real.

What support is available on the reservoirs?

Fingerling stocking. The department procures and releases fingerlings into notified reservoirs, timed around the monsoon when survival is best. This is a departmental activity paid for by the state; individual fishers do not buy the seed.

Cage culture. Jharkhand is described by its own Directorate as one of the leading states in cage fish farming. Modular and GI pipe cages have been floated in Chandil, Maithan, Tenughat, Konar, Masanjor and Tilaiya reservoirs among others, and members of fisheries cooperative societies operate them. The Directorate treats cage farming as a self-employment programme for the displaced population of the reservoirs. Cage house, aerator and life jacket supply is governed by conditions notified by the department.

Fish marketing support. Fisheries cooperative societies can get financial assistance for pick-up vans to move fish and fish seed, and retail stalls are made available on 80 to 90 per cent subsidy so that fish can be sold in hygienic conditions. Societies can also apply to JHASCOFISH for an office-cum-fish sale centre.

Housing for fishers. Under Ved Vyas Awaas Yojana, poor fishers living in mud or kuccha houses are given assistance for a house at a unit cost of Rs 1.20 lakh, described by the department as 100 per cent assistance for constructing their own house.

Accident insurance. Under the PMMSY Group Accident Insurance Scheme, active fishermen aged 18 to 70 are covered. The insurer pays Rs 5,00,000 to the legal heir for loss of life or complete permanent disability, Rs 2,50,000 for partial and permanent disability, and Rs 25,000 towards the hospitalisation period. The accident must be intimated within 90 days and claim documents submitted within 180 days.

Training. The Fish Farmers Training Centre runs a five-day residential training for fish culturists and a three-day residential training for seed growers. Trainees submit their forms with identity proof to the District Fisheries Officer, and are given a stipend plus actual train or bus fare from the district headquarters to the training centre.

Who is eligible for reservoir fisheries support?

You can apply if:

• You are a member of a registered fisheries cooperative society in Jharkhand. Reservoir fishing rights and cage allotments are routed through societies, of which the state has 401.
• You are a fisher living in a reservoir-side village, and particularly if your family was displaced by the reservoir, which the Directorate identifies as the priority group.
• You are an active fisherman aged 18 to 70 for the purposes of the PMMSY group accident insurance cover.

You cannot apply or are not eligible if:

• You are not a member of a registered fisheries cooperative society and are seeking cage allotment or reservoir fishing support as an individual. Membership is the route; joining a society is the first step, not an optional extra.
• You want to fish in a reservoir without allotment. Reservoir fishing is regulated, and unallotted fishing is not permitted.
• You are resident outside Jharkhand.
• You are applying for pond construction subsidy without land, that is a different component and requires a Land Possession Certificate. Pond subsidy runs at a unit cost of Rs 3.00 lakh for a one-acre pond, with subsidy of 90 per cent for SC and ST applicants and 80 per cent for others.

How to apply for reservoir fisheries support

1. Join or contact your local fisheries cooperative society. Membership of a registered society is the practical gateway to reservoir fishing rights, cage allotment and marketing support. Applications for JHASCOFISH membership are handled through the "Member JHASCOFISH" route on jharkhandfisheries.org.
2. Download the application form for the component you want from the Notice Boards/Forms and Main Menu sections of jharkhandfisheries.org, or collect it from your District Fisheries Office.
3. Submit the completed form with identity proof to the District Fisheries Officer of your district. The Directorate directs all component applications: training, fish farming, new pond, seed and feed: to the District Fisheries Officer.
4. Attach the supporting papers; society membership record, bank passbook, and a Land Possession Certificate where the component involves land.
5. Follow the sanction. Departmental sanction orders and allotment orders are published in the Rajyadesh (Sanction) and Allotment sections of jharkhandfisheries.org, which is where the current year's rates and the list of sanctioned beneficiaries appear.
6. Register on NFDP where the component is linked to the central Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana; the Directorate carries the NFDP registration link on its homepage.

How to check the status of your application

1. Ask the District Fisheries Officer for the file position; district-level scrutiny is where most applications sit.
2. Open the Rajyadesh (Sanction) and Allotment sections on jharkhandfisheries.org and look for the sanction order covering your district and component.
3. Check the district page for your district on the same site, which carries district-specific fisheries information.

Common reasons an application does not go through

• No society membership, so the applicant cannot be considered for cage or reservoir allotment.
• Identity proof or form incomplete, the Directorate specifically notes that ID proof must accompany the form.
• No Land Possession Certificate for a pond component, which is treated as essential.
• Land unsuitable for pond construction, a condition the department applies before sanction.
• Budget for the component exhausted for the year; sanction is against an annual allotment, so an application may simply have to wait for the next financial year.

Where to get help

• Day-to-day technical advice: Assistant Director Fisheries (Research), 0651-2440885.
• Training queries: Chief Instructor, Fish Farmers Training Centre, 0651-2440263.
• Feed and JHASCOFISH matters at Ranchi: Assistant Manager, JHASCOFISH, +91-8002489880.
• Feedback and query form on jharkhandfisheries.org.
• Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department, Nepal House, Doranda, Ranchi 834002, phone 0651-2490929 or 0651-2490578.

The Fisheries Research Centre at Ranchi also conducts water and soil testing free technical support for fish culturists, and offers technical training and start-up facilities for women entrepreneurs in ornamental fish rearing.