Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture

DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, TOURISM AND CULTURE

MODERNIZATION OF MAJOR PORTS

The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture presented its One Hundred and Seventieth Report on the "Modernization of Major Ports", to both the Houses of Parliament today i.e. on the 11th August, 2011. The Committee is chaired by Shri Sitaram Yechury, M.P.

The Major recommendations/observations of the Committee are given in the succeeding paragraphs:

Financial Delegation

2.The Committee finds that most of the proposals of Major Ports for their expansion and replacement of old cargo handling equipments/machineries get stuck at one level or the other in the Ministry. The Committee, came to know that Major Ports are authorized to undertake works worth only Rs.50 crore for new projects and Rs.100 crore for replacement of outdated equipments. A general feeling amongst the port management, port trustees and port users was that lack of adequate financial powers with the Ports for undertaking developmental projects was the major factor for delays. The Committee, therefore, has recommended that all the proposals for modernization/expansion submitted by the Major Ports may be processed at the fast track and step be taken to ensure that the projects were cleared/completed in time, particularly those for the replacement of old cargo handling equipment and other machinery. The Committee has further recommended that Government should enhance the present limit (Rs.50 crore) for new projects and (Rs.100 crores) for replacement of equipments available to the Major Ports so that Ports get more autonomy.

(Para:112 of the Report)

DREDGING

3.Normally, all the Major Ports have very low draft facing the challenges of increased vessel sizes and handling operations of the port. Therefore, dredging at the ports is of utmost importance for their being useful and viable. But the dredging projects have not been given due priority, as a result the capacity addition programme of the Major Ports have been affected adversely. Both capital and maintenancedredging is an important component for cargo handling capacity and to increase the efficiency of the Indian Major Ports. The Committee has recommended that the dredging projects taken up/proposed to be taken up be executed in a time-bound manner.

(Para:140of the Report)

DREDGING CORPORATION OF INDIA (DCI)

4.The Committee was informed that many shore-based executives of DCI haveeither resigned/left and joined different private organisations in 2005-06 including the Rival Dredging Companies. The Committee feels that possibility of some officials of DCI, directly or indirectly, maintaining some sort of relation with the private companies to share certain key information to them leading to enormous losses to DCI, cannot be ruled out.

(Para:157 of the Report)

5.The Committee found that DCI has been made a scapegoat in the Sethu Samudram Project leading to substantial revenue loss to DCI. It has been forced to place purchase order for a third dredger. The Committee has recommendedan inquiry to be conducted to look into the affairs of the DCI particularly, the handing over of work to private dredging company through DCI; issuing of work performance certificate to private companies; making of payment to private companies without being reimbursed by SSC; placement of purchase order for third dredger by DCI and unsatisfactory repair of dredgers by foreign companies. The Committee is of the view that tax payers’ money has been invested in the DCI and Government should ensure that nothing should be done which harms the interest of the company. Let there be level-playing field and no private company should be favoured at the cost of DCI.

(Para:159 of the Report)

RAIL CONNECTIVITY

6.The Major Ports in the country are connected by rail and the Ministry of Railways has taken up 8 projects to provide additional rail connectivity to the Major Ports in the recent past. The Committee is concerned to note that most of the projects are lagging behind the schedule. The better rail connectivity is very crucial for improving the efficiency of the Major Ports. The Committee has recommended that the Ministry of Shipping should take up the matter with the Ministry of Railways to ensure that projects are implemented in a time bound manner.

(Para:185 of the Report)

ROAD CONNECTIVITY

7.All the Major Ports, particularly those like Mumbai Port, Chennai Port and even JNPT have severe traffic congestion mainly due to lack of suitable road connectivity. The Committee is of the view that at least 4 lane road connectivity is required in all the Ports. Uniform infrastructure facilities may be made in all the Major Ports so that the goals and bench marking of port operations may be attained and performance monitoring also may be possible. Road connecting Chennai and EnnorePort needs to be expedited.

(Para:213 of the Report)

IT, SECURITY AND TRAFFIC MONITORING

8.Major Ports are still facing multiple problems in terms of voluminous documentation, inconsistency in data, duplication of work, redundant book keepings and these problems have led to lower productivity and non working time at berths. The Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) facilities are used for regular berthing/deberthing of ships. The Committee has observed that most of the Major Ports are not equipped with VTMS facilities which has affected their efficiency. The Committee has recommended that IT infrastructure should be installed for exchange of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) messages between MajorPorts and other stakeholders.

(Para:227 of the Report)

9.The Committee has observed that Port Security is of utmost importance and we have to keep strict vigil in this matter. The Committee is of the view that extended use of IT will supplement its effort of making in port and sea area safe and secure by tracking movement of suspected dangerous vessels.

(Para:228 of the Report)

ENVIRONMENT

10.The Committee has recommended that Government should direct the Major Ports to explore modern ways of cargo handling and storage in order to reduce damage to cargo and the environmental pollutions. The Committee is of the view that keeping a pollution free environment is a social obligation, therefore, Government may also consider funding the cost of pollution checking operations by the Ports.

(Para:242 of the Report)

11.The Committee has recommended that within the port limits, Ports may be permitted to prepare Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP), taking into consideration the future construction/expansion requirements and also commitments if any, based on earlier environment clearances issued.

(Para:243 of the Report)

12.The Committee also has recommended that efforts should be made to set up green Ports by installing wind and solar power centres, with CNG fitted vehicles, water harvesting and forestation. Enhancing the port capacity in a sustainable way, better water and waste management, reduction of emissions from fuels, switching over to non-conventional energy sources etc, should be taken up to save the environment.

(Para:244 of the Report)

STORAGE SPACE FOR CARGO

13.The Committee notes that thousands of acres of land is in possession of Major Ports and they are more known as ‘landlord Ports’. The Committee is however constrained to note that Major Ports are facing acute shortage of storage space which has affected cargo aggregation/evacuation. It also affects the discharge/loading of vessels. The Committee recommended that proper storage facility may be planned in such a manner depending on the type of cargo handled by the Port. Similarly, such storage places could be equipped with direct cargo transfer conveyor belts so that the double handling of the same cargo could be avoided. The Committee has recommended that additional space can also be created by demolishing redundant structures and that the un-cleared goods, warehouse activities which include unaccompanied baggage clearing etc. shouldbe shifted to outer areas.

(Para:255 of the Report)

LAND POLICY/PROBLEMS

14.The MumbaiPort's 753 hectares land is contiguous with the land of the city of Mumbai and has become an integral part of the city. Real Estate is one of the key assets of MumbaiPort and care has to be taken to ensure that its land usage policy is carefully monitored in the future. The Committee has, therefore, recommended that a clear-cut land policy may be made for proper utilization of the land with the MumbaiPort. The Committee also recommended that every effort should be made to protect the land of the port from encroachment.

(Para:233 of the Report)

15.The Committee has recommended that adequate number of food laboratories may be established in the premises of Major Ports for speedy disposal of perishable food articles. The Committee further recommended that adequate number of Drug Controlling Officers may be deputed near the port vicinity to avoid delay in cargo clearance.

(Para:258 of the Report)

WAGE POLICY /CONTRACTUAL LABOUR/ISSUES

16.Regarding the contractual labourers the Committee recommended that the Government should ensure that workers who had served for many decades must be considered for regularization.

(Para:269 of the Report)

17.The Committee also recommended that better HR management practices may be adopted. The Committee also recommended that training of the staff to modern equipments and machineries may be done instead outsourcing the work to private agencies for all these works. Focus is needed for building transparent and actionable-internal communication system on the part of the port management.

(Para:287 of the Report)

CORPORATISATION OF PORTS

18.The Committee desired that Government should handle the matter of corporatization of Ports carefully as many of the port employees’ unions are very much concerned about job security of the employees after corporatization. The Committeehas recommended that Government should take employees’ union into confidence and take every step to instill confidence amongst the employees in the matter.

(Paras: 298 300 of the Report)

19.The Committee is of the view that the surplus funds which are mostly lying idle with ports could be utilized in a more practical manner for developing infrastructure in other Ports by way of Inter-Port lending or making a common pool of funds. The Committee is also of the view that surplus money may be utilized for capacity addition of another MajorPort on the same terms and conditions as in the case of PPP Projects. This will benefit those ports which are having surplus money and resources to invest them in a more competent field.

(Para: 300 of the Report)

TARIFF AUTHORITY FOR MAJOR PORTS (TAMP)

20.The Committee observes that each port has its own tariff schedule and scales; the accounting procedures are also different. The Committee, therefore, feels that it would be necessary for Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) in the first instance to establish some common accounting procedures amongst Ports and move towards fixing uniform principles for fixation of tariffs; this would go a long way towards promoting inter-port competition.

(Para:304of the Report)

21.The Committee is also of the view that with private investment coming in shipping industry, in view of competition in the port sector Government should consider to set up a tribunal to hear complaints against port tariffs .

(Para:305of the Report)

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

22.The Committee recommended that Government should examine the experience and performance of PPP abroad. It would not be in the interest of the nation to allow foreign MNCs to take over the port related activities. Moreover, the Ports have strategic Naval defence systems within its periphery, which will be open to monopoly of Multi National Companies who may control Ports and Indian defence secret will be exposed to Foreign Countries.

(Para:324 of the Report)

CABOTAGE ISSUE

23.The Committee noted that it is imperative that the Cabotage law is relaxed to enable transshipment of containers through foreign flag vessels from ICTT, Cochin. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government should immediately undertake a review of the Cabotage law and take appropriate decision in consultation with all the stakeholders involved.

(Para:346 of the Report)

INLAND WATER TRANSPORT

24.The Committee is of the view thatlinking of water ways as in the case of NW1&2 with the Kolkata Port system, NW 3 with the Cochin Port and the proposed plan for linking of NW-5 with Paradip port will supplement to the inland movement of cargo in a more economical way. The Committee therefore recommended that more such options may be worked out in other parts of the country so that it may have a positive impact on the Port activities in the adjoining areas.

(Para:350 of the Report)

The full report is available on the website of Rajya Sabha. (rajyasabha.nic.in  Committees Department Related RS Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture = Reports)

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