Parliament Question: Fishing in Uttar Pradesh

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QU ESTION NO. 674 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3RD FEBRUARY, 2026 Fishing in Uttar Pradesh 674. Adv Priya Saroj: Will the Minister of FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has conducted any district-wise assessment or scientific survey during the last five years on the decline of native fish species in major rivers of Uttar Pradesh, if so, the details thereof and key findings identified in this regard; (b) whether the instances of fish mortality or population decline were examined in relation to the functioning, data integrity and compliance of Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) in polluting industrial units and the action taken against non-compliant units; (c) the details of the environmental compensation levied and realised from industries for river pollution and the proportion utilised for fisheries restoration, river ranching or habitat rejuvenation in Uttar Pradesh during the last three years; and (d) whether any compensation, livelihood support, health and food-safety assessments have been undertaken by the Government for traditional fishing communities who are affected by river pollution if so, the details thereof and findings? ANSWER MINISTER OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING (SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH) (a) to (c): As reported by Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), survey has been conducted in the six rivers of Uttar Pradesh in the past five years, under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) programme. A total of 130 finfish species were documented from the 10 designated sampling sites of the Ganga River in the UP part. Temporal assessments of the fish diversity in Yamuna, Betwa, and Ken rivers are as under: River Base No. of fish species No. of fish species in year the present study (2025) Yamuna 2017 143 84 Betwa 2017 81 67 Ken 2017 89 66 Saryu 2024 51 84 Rapti 2020 27 59 While regulation and control of river pollution fall under the mandate of Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate change (MoEF&CC), the Department of Fisheries, Government of India through National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) is implementing River Ranching Programme under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) for conservation and restoration of native fish stocks and sustainable development of riverine fisheries and support livelihoods of fisher communities in the major river system covering 17 States including Uttar Pradesh with technical support from ICAR-Fisheries Research Institutes namely, Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI), Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA) and Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research (ICAR-DCFR). Further, asregards to Uttar Pradesh, a sum of Rs.8.45 crore has been sanctioned and released under the ongoing PMMSY for ranching of 281.66 lakh fingerlings in the Ganga river and its tributaries and the programme has been successfully implemented. In addition, Department of Fisheries, Government of India, through National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) is also promoting the concept of State Fish introduced by Indian Council for Agricultural Research- National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBFGR), to encourages States to adopt and conserve regionally important fish species, with aim to replenish native fish stocks, restore ecological balance, and raise awareness about species at risk. At present, 21 aquatic species are designated either as State fish, State aquatic animal or State animal. Besides, The Department of Fisheries, in collaboration with the National Fisheries Development Board, Government of Uttar Pradesh and ICAR-CIFRI has made efforts in restoration of the prized native fish species in the Ganga River and as reported by CIFRI, the institute conducted 47 ranching events and released 22.94 lakh fish fingerlings under the Namami Gange project in the last 3 years in different stretches of the River in the UP region. This includes enhancing seed production, improving availability of seeds and formulated feed for farming and adoption of improved farming methods. (d) PMMSY inter alia has provision for Livelihood and Nutritional support for socio- economically backward active traditional fishers’ families for conservation of fish resources during fishing ban/lean period. Under this component Government assistance is provided @Rs. 3000/- per fisher and beneficiaries’ own contribution of Rs. 1500/- for three months during fishing ban/lean period. Government of Uttar Pradesh has availed the livelihood and nutritional support to fishers’ families during the fishing ban/ lean period activity for 1,000 fishers in the year of 2024-25 only for this activity. PMMSY also provides insurance coverage to fishers, which includes fish workers, fish farmers and any other categories of persons directly involved in fishing and fisheries related allied activities. The insurance coverage provided under the PMMSY includes (i) Rs.5,00,000/- against accidental death or permanent total disability, (ii) Rs.2,50,000/- for permanent partial disability and (iii) hospitalization expenses in the event of accident for a sum of Rs. 25,000/-. ****