Fishery minister bats for proper utilisation of budget

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, November 21, 2024

Tripura Fisheries Minister Sudhangshu Das on Thursday urged the officials of his department to make sure that the budget outlay for his department is properly utilised and no funds should remain unspent at the end of the fiscal year. Speaking at the World Fisheries Day event held at Pragna Bhavan, Agartala, he said, “The department has to work very carefully so that we can grow big. The yearly budget outlay for the department should be utilised properly and no funds are left unspent. The Finance shouldn’t have the scope to tell us that because of unspent funds, the allocations are cut for the next fiscal year. The onus is on the top officials to ensure that.”

Describing fish farming as one of the crucial pillars of Tripura’s economy, Das said, “People working in the primary sectors like agriculture, fish farming and animal husbandry are the biggest pillars of the state’s economy. We have as many as two lakh registered fish farmers across the state and had they not been involved in this trade they would have been unemployed. So, fish farming could be seen as a remedy to the problem of unemployment as well.”

Unveiling his plans to make sure that the fishery sector grows well in the state, the Minister said, “We have already identified unutilised water bodies across the state. A project for restoration of fish farming activities in those water bodies had been placed before the Centre. I hope, we shall soon be reverted with a positive response.” The Minister also added that the Union Ministry has sanctioned Rs 40 crore for setting up an integrated aqua park at Satero Miar Haor located in Unakoti district of Tripura.