Bhubaneswar: Balasore district has received an allocation of Rs 250.71 crore under various fisheries development schemes since 2014-15, of which Rs 214.45 crore, or 86%, has been utilised, according to the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
The ministry said the funding has supported infrastructure development, aquaculture expansion and fish production under schemes including the Blue Revolution and the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh informed the Lok Sabha in response to a question asked in the House.
Among the major projects implemented in the district are the development of the Chandipur Fishing Harbour at a cost of Rs 49.94 crore and a state-of-the-art wholesale fish market at Basta built at Rs 78.20 crore, according to an official statement.
Other initiatives include the development of five climate-resilient coastal fishermen villages, installation of six cold storage and ice plant units, demonstration of sea cage culture of Indian pompano at the Bahabalpur coast, development of 107 hectares of brackish-water aquaculture, and establishment of three finfish hatcheries and one scampi hatchery.
The Ministry said Balasore has also been declared the Production and Processing Cluster for scampi.
At the State level, the Department of Fisheries has approved projects worth Rs 1,567.96 crore under the Blue Revolution and PMMSY since 2014-15, including a Central share of Rs 549.58 crore, for fisheries and aquaculture development across Odisha.
Under the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund, 13 projects worth Rs 784.32 crore have been approved for Odisha, including two projects valued at Rs 8.26 crore in Balasore district.
The Ministry also noted that the Odisha Government is implementing the Mukhyamantri Matsyajibi Kalyan Yojana to support fisheries and aquaculture development across the State, including Balasore.
