Kerala’s government led by CPI (M) is under fire for signing a deal with a US company for deep-sea fishing and allied processing, what the Congress-led Opposition calls an offer to sell the state’s marine wealth , endangering the livelihood of lakhs. of fishermen in the state.
What is the controversial agreement about?
On February 28, 2020, Kerala Industrial Development Corporation (KIDC), an investment promotion agency under the Department of Industries, signed a memorandum of understanding with EMCC International India Private Limited, the Indian art of EMCC Global Consortium LCC, based in New York, for research and development for the improvement and promotion of deep-sea fishing in Kerala ”. The company had stated that the total outlay for the project was Rs 5,000 million. That deal was signed 48 days after KSIDC hosted a global investors meeting, ASCEND-2020, in Kochi.
One of the stated objectives of the agreement was state-of-the-art high seas fishing. The project components were the construction of 400 deep-sea fishing trawlers according to the design proposed by EMCC, five mother ships with modern technology, the upgrade of 14 fishing ports in Kerala to EU standards, 50 food processing plants of sea, hospitals and air ambulances for fishermen and aquaculture farms.
The proposal said that the EMCC would train and deploy 1.60 lakhs of fishermen in deep-sea fishing. Their skills would be enhanced and the local fishing community would benefit in terms of direct and indirect employment opportunities, in addition to the complementary economic benefits generated by fishing and processing activities.
As a sequel to the memorandum of understanding that EMCC signed with KSIDC in 2020, Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation (KSINC), a public sector entity under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, signed a new agreement with the same company on February 2, 2021 with Headquartered in the US for the manufacture of 400 deep sea trawlers and related activities at a cost of Rs 2,950 crore. The government had officially announced this agreement, in which KSINC was expected to provide infrastructure facilities to EMCC for the manufacture of deep-sea vessels. He said these deep-sea boats would be handed over to traditional fishermen and the company would modernize fishing ports and engage in the processing industry along the state’s coast.
How is the proposed project opposed to fisheries policy?
The Government of the Union had withdrawn in 2017 the permit granted to foreign trawlers three years ago for fishing on the high seas in the exclusive economic zone of the country. The country’s EEZ extends up to 370 km from the coast. Illegal fishing by foreign vessels in Indian waters is punishable under the provisions of the Indian Maritime Zone (Foreign Vessel Fishing Regulation Act) 1981. In fact, foreign trawlers had been operating since 1997 and the then Government of the Union issued authorization letters for foreign trawlers. .
In Kerala, the CPI (M) government fisheries policy, introduced in 2018, opposed allowing foreign and native corporate vessels along the state’s coast. Indian corporate groups fishing on the high seas along the Kerala coast said they would put pressure on the Union Government to ensure that foreign vessels are not penalized. The stated policy of the state is to equip traditional fishermen for deep-sea fishing by making them owners of deep-sea fishing vessels.
In addition, there would be restrictions on the number of vessels. Only traditional fishermen would receive permission to replace their old boast.
Are the Chief Minister, his Cabinet colleagues aware of the project and the MoUs?
After opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala raised the charge, the government has been vehemently denying the agreement with the US firm. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Industries Minister EP Jayarajan and Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma have refuted the allegation that they met with EMCC executives and claimed that no such MoU existed. However, Chennithala has revealed the details of the visits. EMCC said that they had met with the Chief Minister at his official residence in August 2019.
The government had denied the original 2020 memorandum of understanding and the subsequent one in which KSINC participates. Vijayan claimed that he was not aware of the Rs 2,950 crore deal from KSINC, an entity that reports to him and has former chief secretary Tom José as president.
However, there is a string of incidents showing that the whole issue has been under the government’s eye at various levels since 2018. EMCC executives had met with Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma in New York in April 2018 and they discussed the project. In July 2019, the EMCC met with Fisheries Secretary KR Jyotilal and discussed the concept paper in detail. EMCC had also requested a letter of intent from the Kerala government for the Rs 5,000 million project. In October 2019, the state wrote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to verify the credentials of EMCC International India Private Ltd.
Later, in January 2020, the project was presented at ASCEND-2020, investors met, leading to the signing of the MoU on February 28, 2020. In early February, KSIDC had delivered a letter to the company which allocated four acres of land in Alappuzha. for fish processing. Also on February 2 of this year, KSINC signed an agreement with EMCC for the manufacture of deep-sea fishing vessels and related port developments with an outlay of Rs 2950. Interestingly, it was on February 11 of this year that EMCC approached Jayarajan to request the consent of the cabinet for the entire project.
How has the issue become a pre-survey controversy?
The Opposition’s accusation that CPI (M) is trying to sell the marine wealth to the US company has suddenly stoked the fire along the coast. The project was not discussed among stakeholders. Many of the project components would eventually privatize the state fishing sector, including ports. Several organizations in the fishing community, except the one affiliated with CPI (M), have declared a coastal hartal on February 27. Congress and the BJP are playing the game at the helm among the fishing community. The issue has embarrassed the IPC (M) as it seems contradictory to its own stated stance against companies in the fisheries and agriculture sectors. Furthermore, the government’s alleged offer to conceal the treatment from the public has also caused a furore. The Minister of Industries had skipped the KSIDC MoU with EMCC when the Opposition during the Assembly session sought details on the follow-up actions in ASCEND, investors meet.
What is EMCC?
EMCC is a New York-based global consortium with an Indian arm called EMCC International India Limited. Although the company had proposed projects worth Rs 5 billion in the state’s fishing sector, its letter to the government does not mention the company’s track record in the marine sector. EMCC has said that the proposed project in Kerala is its first entry into the marine industry. The firm has stated that it has participation in several business verticals, such as real estate, tourism, health and commerce. He has participated in several infrastructure and engineering projects in various countries.
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