The Shipping Ministry on Friday released the draft Bill for changing the structures of port trusts. "We propose to introduce it in the Monsoon Session once approved by the Cabinet," said an official.
The Bill proposes to replace the Major Port Trust Act, 1963. It also looks to delegate more powers to ports and set up an independent review board to carry out the residual function of the erstwhile Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) to look into disputes between ports and public-private partnership (PPP) developers.
The draft Bill proposes allowing a land lease for 40 years for port-related use, as opposed to the current terminal development contracts of up to 30 years. For periods beyond 30 years, Cabinet approval is required. According to the Shipping Ministry, this step is intended to give more autonomy and flexibility to ports governed by the States and bring a professional approach to their governance.
The composition of the port's board has been simplified, a Shipping Ministry statement said. "The board will consist of nine members, including three-four independent members instead of 17-19 under the Port Trust Model. Provision has been made for the inclusion of three functional heads of Major Ports as members on the board apart from a government nominee and a labour nominee," it said.
Port-related and non-port related use of land has been defined in the draft. The port authorities are empowered to lease land for port-related use for up to 40 years and for non-port-related use up to 20 years, beyond which the approval of the Centre is required.
The need for government approvals for raising loans, appointments of consultants, execution of contracts and creation of service posts has been dispensed with. The Board of the Port Authority has been delegated power to raise loans and issue security for capital expenditure and working capital requirements.
The concept of internal audit of the functions and activities of the Central Ports has been introduced on the lines of the Companies Act, 2015. The Board of the Port Authority has been delegated the power to fix the scale of rates for service and assets. The regulation of tariff by the TAMP has been removed.
The status of the port authority will be deemed as 'local authority' under the provisions of the General Clauses Act, 1887 and other applicable statutes so that it can prepare appropriate regulations in respect of the area within the port limits to the exclusion of any Central, State or local laws.
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Port trusts to be replaced with board-like setups
By IndianMandarins - 2016-06-11 11:56:25
The Shipping Ministry on Friday released the draft Bill for changing the structures of port trusts. "We propose to introduce it in the Monsoon Session once approved by the Cabinet," said an official.
The Bill proposes to replace the Major Port Trust Act, 1963. It also looks to delegate more powers to ports and set up an independent review board to carry out the residual function of the erstwhile Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) to look into disputes between ports and public-private partnership (PPP) developers.
The draft Bill proposes allowing a land lease for 40 years for port-related use, as opposed to the current terminal development contracts of up to 30 years. For periods beyond 30 years, Cabinet approval is required. According to the Shipping Ministry, this step is intended to give more autonomy and flexibility to ports governed by the States and bring a professional approach to their governance.
The composition of the port's board has been simplified, a Shipping Ministry statement said. "The board will consist of nine members, including three-four independent members instead of 17-19 under the Port Trust Model. Provision has been made for the inclusion of three functional heads of Major Ports as members on the board apart from a government nominee and a labour nominee," it said.
Port-related and non-port related use of land has been defined in the draft. The port authorities are empowered to lease land for port-related use for up to 40 years and for non-port-related use up to 20 years, beyond which the approval of the Centre is required.
The need for government approvals for raising loans, appointments of consultants, execution of contracts and creation of service posts has been dispensed with. The Board of the Port Authority has been delegated power to raise loans and issue security for capital expenditure and working capital requirements.
The concept of internal audit of the functions and activities of the Central Ports has been introduced on the lines of the Companies Act, 2015. The Board of the Port Authority has been delegated the power to fix the scale of rates for service and assets. The regulation of tariff by the TAMP has been removed.
The status of the port authority will be deemed as 'local authority' under the provisions of the General Clauses Act, 1887 and other applicable statutes so that it can prepare appropriate regulations in respect of the area within the port limits to the exclusion of any Central, State or local laws.
