External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday informed the Rajya Sabha that India is keen to have a permanent mechanism to deal with the issue of Tamil Nadu fishermen arrested by Sri lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in their waters as the present system to get the fishermen release is ad-hoc in nature.
Making this assertion while fielding questions on this issue, she also assured the Elders that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken up this matter with his counterparts during his meetings with them. Modi was present was in the House when the minister made this statement.
listing out the measures as part of having a permanent mechanism, the minister said the two countries had agreed that foreign ministers along with fisheries minister of the respective will meet every six months and they were now taking place. She also said efforts were on to address the issue of fishermen arrested in the interim period through some mutually agreed system.
Allaying the apprehensions of some members including D Raja(CPI) that the government was not doing enough for the arrested fishermen, Swaraj said her Government secured the release of 251 fishermen
and 42 fishing boats in Sri lankan custody this year. The government was also making efforts for early release of Indian fishermen now held by the Sri lankan Navy for “allegedly” fishing in their waters, she said.
Moreover, a Rs1,500 crore scheme was implemented two years back to promote deep sea fishing to prevent bottom trawling which damages the sea surface, she said.
The minister informed the house that the Sri lankan Government is against bottom trawling which is banned there and in India but has no objection to Tamil Nadu fishermen practicing traditional fishing in lanka waters. The state government has now stopped registration of trawlers, she said adding India has 60,000 such boats with 6,000 of them alone in Tamil Nadu.