No adverse impact on Kerala due to offshore mining: Union Minister

Moreover, he said of 13 offshore blocks, only 3 are in Kerala and they are beyond 12 nautical miles, which comes under the exclusive economic zones.

Singh’s assertion comes following a letter by Leader of Opposition in LS Rahul Gandhi to PM Narendra Modi condemning the Centre’s decision to permit offshore mining along the coasts of Kerala, Gujarat, and Andaman & Nicobar.

Urging the government to cancel the tenders issued for the offshore mining blocks, Gandhi asserted that rigorous scientific studies must be undertaken to assess the environmental as well as socio-economic impact of offshore mining.

Denying allegations that the government was negligent towards fishermen, Singh said, “the Narendra Modi government has thought about poor fishermen and formulated policies that have brought progress in their lives. Our fish production today is second in the world.”

On certain issues raised by Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor regarding fishermen, Singh said his problems would be solved if Congress mended its relations with the state government.

The debate was initiated by Congress MP K C Venugopal who said, “India is one of the largest fish producing countries. Our exclusive economic zone spans over 2.02 million km. Yet the wealth from it remains concentrated in a few hands. The true custodians of the sea, the fishermen, remain in chains of poverty.”

Without naming anyone, Venugopal said, “It is alarming that just one company is operating a port every 500 km across the over 7,000 km coast of India. Only one company has the monopoly. They have control over 27% of India’s total port volume. This total privatisation of ports is creating problems for poor fishermen.”

“The government has extended the fishing harbours in Kerala and under the Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF), infrastructure development is being promoted,” he said.