The aqua industry in this district, which hopes to bring in Rs 800 crore in dollars through shrimp culture and export, is now in a fix following the Supreme Court order that the units be demolished by March-end owing to coastal regulation zone hiccups.
At the moment, the industry is engaged in harvesting the final crop and exporting them, mostly to Japan. But there may not be stocking up of the ponds afresh when the new season commences in a few weeks from now.
The district administration is bracing itself for follow-up action on the Supreme Court order. We shall soon constitute inspection teams to visit the various aqua units in the district, identify those which violate the apex courts orders and initiate necessary action, said district collector and magistrate Sambasiva Rao.
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Nellore is known as the home of shrimp with the largest concentration of corporate bodies engaged in the 100 per cent export-oriented operations. The authorities have on their register 16 big corporates, 50 medium and small companies and 1,200 small and marginal farmers engaged in shrimp culture across an area of 14 mandals.
There is also the supporting infrastructure. There are 30 hatcheries, all established on the most modern lines and a dozen international standard processing units converting the shrimp into value-added products for export.
In this coastal district, over 2.5 lakh hectares spread across 124 villages in 16 mandals have been surveyed, identified and notified as falling within the coastal regulation zone. Shrimp culture and allied activities including seed production through hatcheries is carried on a waterspread area of 4,300 hectares.
The industrys investment runs to over Rs 1,400 crore with a million persons employed directly or indirectly. This year we expect to get foreign exchange of the equivalent of Rs 800 crore by export of shrimp and products, said Sudhakar, marketing chief of Rank Aqua Estates Ltd., the pioneer in shrimp culture in this district.
The stakes of the funding institutions which have provided credit to the industry are also high. Our own investment runs to around Rs 40 crore, said S Kuppuswamy, assistant general manager, SCICI Ltd. Together with ICICI, the State Bank of Indian, other financial institutions and banks, the credit to the industry runs to a few hundred crore.
Rao said at least 30 per cent of the waterspread under shrimp culture in the district comes within the high-tide line fixed by the Andhra Pradesh Shore Area Development Authority.
Of the 30 hatcheries in the district, 22 are within the 500 metres of the high-tide line. Even out of this 22, as many as 12 are situated within 200 metres of high-tide line. If the Supreme Courts orders are applicable to creeks, canals, rivers, estuaries and lakes as well, not less than 60 per cent of water spread (under aqua culture) will be affected. Of this, 70 to 80 percent are under semi-intensive culture, says the Collector.
The revenue authorities have identified 42 marine-based companies 100 per cent export-oriented units, integrated projects and major corporate bodies that have constructed jetties, PVC pipelines, RCC canals and digged canals over the Buckingham canal within the 500 metres of high-tide line to draw sea water for the shrimp culture ponds or the hatcheries. However, no fresh water aqua culture has been identified within the 500 metres high-tide line.
Since the Supreme Court order, there has not been any interaction between the district officials and the aqua industrys representatives. The collector was mostly pre-occupied with revenue work and grounding the Janmabhoomi programme.
The next two months, we shall devote completely to the implementation of the apex courts orders. I am constituting inspection teams with representatives from the revenue, police, fisheries, groundwater department, the assistant engineer, R&D, and the electricity board to identify the units coming within the ambit of the court orders, Rao said.
Once this task is done, the aqua industry representatives will be called and ways for smooth implementation of the apex court orders will be discussed.
The collector is aware of the governments decision to file an appeal over the court order. Obviously, he does not want to leave the matter to chance unless the court order is stayed.