Supply of Mechanised Fishing Boats on Subsidy Scheme (Lakshadweep)

What is the Supply of Mechanised Fishing Boats on Subsidy Scheme?

Supply of Mechanised Fishing Boats on Subsidy is the oldest and largest development programme of the Directorate of Fisheries, Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Under it the Department constructs or procures specially designed mechanised fishing boats and supplies them to island fishermen on a hire-purchase basis, with a subsidy carved out of the boat's cost.

According to the Lakshadweep Fisheries Portal, the current pattern of subsidy is 20% on the cost of the hull and 25% on the cost of the engine. The remainder becomes the allottee's financial liability, repaid to the Department in instalments. The scheme is often referred to locally simply as the "boat hire purchase" scheme, and the governing rules are the Lakshadweep Supply of Mechanised Fishing Boats (Hire Purchase) Rules, 1976, issued by the Administrator to consolidate all earlier executive instructions.

The Department of Fisheries was set up in 1959 and mechanisation of fishing craft was its first major programme. Tuna is the only abundant resource in the sea around Lakshadweep, and the boats supplied are built for pole-and-line live-bait fishing, a method found in India only in these islands. The Department reports that 503 mechanised boats of 25 feet, 30 feet and 34 feet have been supplied under the programme, along with 7 boats of 38 feet, and that the island-wise stock of mechanised boats stands at about 510 against 918 country crafts. Fish landings that were around 500 tonnes in the 1960s now average about 12,000 tonnes a year, which the Department attributes largely to mechanisation.

Two boat-building yards, one at Kavaratti and one at Chetlath, construct and repair these craft. Boat building materials for repair and maintenance are also supplied to fishermen separately.

Who is eligible for the mechanised fishing boat subsidy?

You can apply if:

• You are a person as defined in the 1976 Rules: someone permanently inhabiting and carrying on business in Lakshadweep, at least one of whose parents was born in one of the islands.
• You depend on fishing for your livelihood, or you are part of a group that does.
• You do not own or hold a fishing boat on the date of application.
• You are in sound health and, preferably, trained in mechanised fishing by the Fisheries Department.

Priority order fixed by Rule 5:

1. First priority; groups of persons who are members of fishing co-operative societies registered in the Union Territory. Within this, groups trained in mechanised fishing by the Department are preferred.
2. Second priority: other groups of persons, again with preference for those trained in mechanised fishing.
3. Third priority: groups of educated unemployed youth holding SSLC/SSC or above who have opted for fishing as self-employment, groups who studied fishing science as a vocational subject up to Class X, and groups of able-bodied ex-servicemen.

You are not eligible, or your claim will be weighed against you, if:

• You already own or hold a fishing boat on the date of application. The Rules state plainly that no such applicant shall be eligible for allotment.
• You owe money to the Administration and the amount is in default.
• You have been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence involving moral turpitude.
• You have been connected with anti-government activities of an objectionable type.
• You are not an islander within the meaning of the Rules, people from outside Lakshadweep cannot apply.

Islands themselves are also ranked. Rule 6 says preference in allotting boats to an individual island depends on the fishing performance of boats issued there earlier; islands with a poor fishing record or a record of misusing boats get low priority.

How much benefit does the scheme give?

The benefit is not a cash transfer. The Fisheries Department fixes the total cost of the boat as the value of the hull plus the value of the engine plus all accessories fitted before delivery. From that total it deducts the subsidy sanctioned at the time of delivery, 20% of the hull cost and 25% of the engine cost. What is left is the allottee's financial liability under the hire-purchase agreement.

Because hull and engine prices change with the size of boat and the year of supply, the Fisheries Portal does not publish a fixed rupee ceiling. Ask the Assistant Director of Fisheries at Kavaratti or Chetlath boat building yard for the current costing of a 25-foot, 30-foot or 34-foot boat before you commit.

A related programme supplies inboard engines, outboard motors, GPS sets and VHF communication sets at full cost under hire purchase; no subsidy there, only the instalment facility. That programme is used for replacing irreparable engines and for motorising traditional country craft.

What are the documents required?

How to apply for the Lakshadweep mechanised fishing boat subsidy

1. Collect Form A from the Fisheries Unit on your island or from the office of the Assistant Director of Fisheries. Application forms are also listed on the Fisheries Portal at fisheries.utl.gov.in.
2. Fill in Form A in triplicate, covering your fishing experience, training, health, dependence on fishing, and whether you already hold a boat.
3. Hand the form to the Reporting Authority. The Fisheries Department officer stationed on your island — and make sure it is entered in the register with the date and time of receipt. The point of time of receipt decides priority between otherwise equal applicants, so get the entry made.
4. Wait for the Reporting Authority's enquiry. The officer must make enquiries into your qualifications and submit a report with the original and duplicate of your application within 10 days of receipt.
5. Scrutiny by the Assistant Director of Fisheries (the Scrutinizing Authority), who forwards the papers to the Director of Fisheries.
6. Recommendation by the Director of Fisheries, applying the tests in Rule 8 against all pending applications and the number of boats available for your island.
7. Consideration by the allotment committee, chaired by the Collector-cum-Development Commissioner with the Director of Fisheries as Member Secretary, and including the Secretary (Administration), the Additional District Magistrate, the Assistant Engineer (Shipping) and up to six non-official members.
8. Decision by the Administrator, which is final under the Rules.
9. Execute the hire-purchase agreement in favour of the Administrator, attested by at least two witnesses, with a solemn declaration made before a Gazetted Officer of the Administration, and take delivery of the boat within the period specified in the sanction order.
10. Take out marine insurance at your own cost against all marine risks and deliver the policy to the Director of Fisheries, renewing it until your liability is fully discharged.

The Fisheries Portal also has an online Register Beneficiary form where "Mechanization of Fishing Craft" can be selected along with your name, address, place, mobile number and email. Treat that as a first contact with the Department, not a substitute for Form A.

How to check the status of your application

There is no online status tracker for this scheme. Follow up with the Reporting Authority on your island first, since the register of applications maintained by that officer is countersigned daily and is open to inspection and verification. For a case that has moved beyond the island, contact the Assistant Director of Fisheries at Kavaratti or the office of the Director of Fisheries at Agatti.

What are the obligations after the boat is allotted?

• Keep the boat sea-worthy and insured until ownership passes. Fisheries Department officers may inspect the boat and have a right of entry.
• Use the boat only for fish catching. Using it for any other purpose without the written authority of the Assistant Director of Fisheries is sufficient ground to cancel the agreement and seize the boat.
• Do not leave the boat idle. Non-use or misuse for a continuous fortnight is itself a ground for cancellation.
• Pay instalments on time. On default of two consecutive instalments the arrears plus interest must be cleared; if not paid before the third instalment falls due, the boat is seized without notice and the hirer must clear all dues within 15 days of seizure.
• Do not transfer the boat. Any transfer without permission is void and attracts seizure. Rights are heritable and devolve on legal heirs.

If a boat is seized for violation, the hirer has no claim over the amounts already paid. Further, if what was paid is less than the depreciated value of the boat calculated at 10% a year for the period it was in the hirer's custody, the hirer must pay the shortfall.

There is one protection built in: where a boat was under repair for a period of not less than 30 days, no instalment demand is made for that period.

Why applications get rejected

• The applicant already owns a fishing boat, the clearest disqualification.
• Arrears owed to the Administration on an earlier boat, engine or HSD oil account.
• No boats available for that island in the current allotment round, which is a deferral rather than a rejection.
• Poor fishing performance record of the island, lowering its share of boats.
• An incomplete Form A, or a form not submitted in triplicate, so the Reporting Authority cannot complete the enquiry within 10 days.
• Failure to take delivery within the period specified in the sanction order, or failure to execute the agreement and insurance.

Where to get help

• Director of Fisheries, Lakshadweep, Agatti – 682553 to 04894-242876, 242298 (office), fax 242435.
• Assistant Director of Fisheries, Kavaratti to 04896-262254.
• Assistant Director of Fisheries, Boat Building Yard, Kavaratti to 263499.
• Assistant Director of Fisheries, Boat Building Yard, Chetlath to 276270.
• Island Fisheries Units, Agatti 242235, Amini 273239, Androth 232324, Bitra 275240, Kadmath 274229, Kalpeni 252237, Kiltan 272214, Minicoy 222221.
• Fishermen Training Centre, Amini to 273102, for training in mechanised fishing that improves your priority.

Feedback and written grievances can be submitted through the Feedback form on the Lakshadweep Fisheries Portal. Applications and the enquiry itself are free: no officer or intermediary can charge a fee to register your Form A or to move your file.