Subsidy for the Purchase of Wooden/Fiber Reinforced Plastic/Steel Mechanised Boats

What is the Subsidy for the Purchase of Wooden/Fiber Reinforced Plastic/Steel Mechanised Boats?

Subsidy for the Purchase of Wooden/Fiber Reinforced Plastic/Steel Mechanised Boats is a capital subsidy run by the Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare, Government of Puducherry. The subsidy is one sub-component of a larger state umbrella scheme called Financial Assistance for Availing Subsidy Components for the Development of Marine Fisheries, which packages together the several forms of help the Department gives to boat-owning fishermen in the Union Territory.

The stated objective is to raise marine fish production in Puducherry by putting better, larger and safer fishing craft into the hands of working fishermen. A mechanised boat costs several lakh rupees, and most fishermen in Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam finance the purchase through a bank or through the National Co-operative Development Corporation. The scheme meets half that cost through a back-ended government subsidy so that the loan the fisherman actually has to service is roughly half the size it would otherwise be.

The subsidy covers four distinct situations: a brand-new mechanised boat above 47 feet, a new steel mechanised boat of 45 to 54 feet, conversion or modernisation of an existing mechanised boat, and modernisation of an existing boat of 43 feet and above specifically for tuna long lining.

How much subsidy does the scheme pay?

According to the Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare, the pattern of assistance is:

The Department adds a standing caveat that the rate of subsidy may be fixed by the Government from time to time. Rates published in an older notification are therefore indicative, and the sanction order you eventually receive governs. Ask the Deputy Director (Mechanisation) for the rate in force before you sign a boatyard contract.

Because the new-vessel components are linked with bank finance, the subsidy is normally released against the loan account rather than paid to the fisherman in cash. That reduces the outstanding principal directly and is the reason a provisional or final loan sanction order is on the mandatory document list.

Who is eligible for the mechanised boat subsidy?

You can apply if:

• You belong to the fishermen community, or you are professionally engaged in fishing or the fish trade on a full-time basis, or you are a prospective entrepreneur in the fishing business.
• You have resided in the Union Territory of Puducherry for a continuous period of not less than five years at the time of applying.
• You are enrolled as a member of a Fishermen Co-operative Society.
• You are above 23 years and below 60 years of age.
• If you are male, you have at least five years of sea fishing experience on a mechanised boat. If you are a woman, you have sufficient fishing trade experience. If you are an entrepreneur, you hold a fishing trade experience certificate.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a recipient of the Old Age Pension issued by the Department.
• You are employed in Government, a Government undertaking, or a Fishermen Co-operative Society, whether regular, part-time or temporary.
• You have any dues outstanding to the Department or to a Fishermen Co-operative Society on the date of application.
• You are aged 60 or above, or below 23.
• You have lived in Puducherry for less than five continuous years.

Applicants who cannot produce a fishing or fish-trade experience certificate are not eligible, because the Department treats the subsidy as support for a working livelihood and not as a general investment grant.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the mechanised boat subsidy

1. Confirm the current rate and the availability of allocation. Visit the Directorate of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare at the Fishing Harbour Complex, Thengaithittu, Mudaliarpet Post, Puducherry 605 004, or the regional sub-office for Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam. The Deputy Director (Mechanisation) handles the boat components.
2. Arrange your bank finance first. Approach your bank or the National Co-operative Development Corporation for a loan on the vessel and obtain the loan sanction order or a written acceptance of sanction, because the new-vessel subsidy is expressly linked to bank finance.
3. Collect the prescribed application form in hard copy from the office, or download it from fisheries.py.gov.in. The Department uses a common subsidies application form for the marine fisheries components.
4. Fill in every mandatory field, paste the passport-sized photograph and sign across it where required, and attach self-attested copies of all the mandatory documents listed above.
5. Submit the completed form with the enclosures to the concerned authority at the office where you collected it.
6. Ask for a dated receipt or acknowledgement carrying the date and time of submission and a unique identification number. That number is what you quote for every follow-up.

How to apply offline through the regional sub-offices

1. Identify your regional office: Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam applicants should approach the regional sub-office listed on the Department's Sub-Offices page rather than the Puducherry Directorate.
2. Submit the same prescribed application form and the same enclosures at that office.
3. Cooperate with the field inquiry. An officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Fisheries visits to verify the genuineness of your claim, and the scheme implementing officer, normally an Assistant Director or Deputy Director of Fisheries, records the verification and recommendation.
4. Wait for the Departmental Selection Committee decision. The Department states that eligible beneficiaries are shortlisted within 60 days from the commencement of field inquiry work.

How do I check the status of my application?

Quote the unique identification number from your acknowledgement and follow up with the scheme implementing officer at the office where you filed. There is no separate online tracker for this component; status is tracked through the application receipt register maintained at the office. Where the application was routed through the Puducherry Government's e-District portal at edistrict.py.gov.in, the application number issued there can be used on the portal's Track Application page.

Selection is by committee, so a delay usually means the file is either in field inquiry or awaiting the next Selection Committee sitting rather than that it has been rejected.

Why applications get rejected, and how to fix them

• Dues outstanding to the Department or the co-operative society. Clear them before applying; this is one of the most common disqualifiers.
• Age outside the 23 to 60 band on the date of application.
• Residence certificate short of five continuous years. Ask the Deputy Tahsildar to certify the full period rather than the current year only.
• No loan sanction order. The new-vessel components will not be sanctioned without linked bank finance.
• Missing experience certificate. Male applicants without five years of documented sea fishing experience are rejected outright.
• Already employed in Government or the society. The declaration is checked, and a false declaration invites recovery.

The Department does not publish a formal reconsideration route once the Selection Committee has completed shortlisting, so it is worth getting the file complete on the first attempt.

Where to raise a grievance

Write to or visit the Directorate of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare, Fishing Harbour Complex, Thengaithittu, Mudaliarpet Post, Puducherry 605 004. The office telephone is 0413-2357761 and the departmental email published on the portal is fish[dot]pon[at]nic[dot]in. For sea safety emergencies, the Department lists the Indian Coast Guard toll-free number 1554, the Coastal Police Station number 1093 and the State Emergency Operation Centre number 1077.

No fee is charged for the application form or for registration under this subsidy. Any demand for money to "get your name on the list" is illegitimate and should be reported to the Director.