EC strikes down sops for fishermen

In view of the large electoral support base among fishermen in the three poll-bound states and a Union territory, the Election Commission on Tuesday struck down the finance ministry’s proposal offering concessions for the community.

The government had earlier announced sops for fish farmers and fishermen, including increasing the house building soft loan from Rs 30,000 to Rs 1 lakh and extending the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) scheme to coastal villages.

PURA was the brainchild of former president APJ Abdul Kalam and the government had so far received eight proposals under it. As the last date of receiving proposals was February 11, the finance ministry wanted to add projects related to fishermen villages in Kerala in the Finance Minister’s reply in Parliament on March 11.

With the model code of conduct in place because of the upcoming elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, the finance ministry had approached the EC for a clearance on the proposals.

The EC, however, allowed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to announce the extension of the existing subvention scheme for providing short-term loans to fishermen at seven per cent interest.