The department of shipping issued a clarification on Wednesday stating thatthe Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) is the only authority to decidethe revision of local haulage charges of port railway.

However, speaking to The Financial Express, a senior Railway Board officialsaid that the charges for rail operations cannot be fixed without theapproval of the board. He said that under the Railway Act, tariff for anyrail operation, including port railway, in the country has to be decided bythe Railways.

The department of shipping's clarification follows a doubt raised by theVisakhapatnam Port Trust as to whether approval by the Railway Board toenhance the local haulage charges would suffice or whether approval of theTAMP would be necessary in the matter. The Visakhapatnam Port Trust hadproposed to reduce the local haulage charges on the western sector openterminals by 25 per cent and increase the haulage charges on the easternsector open terminals by 110 per cent to reduce the wide gap between tworates and to boost the handling of rail borne traffic in the western sectoropen terminals.

The proposal was made in response to a request by the trade that the vastdifference in the rates of haulage charges and the infrastructuralfacilities created for handling the rail borne traffic in the open terminalsin the eastern and western sectors was affecting the railway borne trafficin the western sector, and therefore, existing rates of local haulagecharges in the western sector should be reduced.

Consequent to the amendments to the Major Port Trusts Act vide Port Laws(Amendment) Act, 1997, Section 52 of the Major Port Trusts Act was repealed.The port trust had raised the query in view of the amendment. It had soughtapproval of the Railway Board prior to the Amendment.

The department of shipping has also said that the rates of local haulagecharges of port railway, fixed by TAMP, were required to be published in theoffice gazette.

The department has maintained that Section 49A(1) read with sub-section 2 ofthe MPT Act, provides that within any port, fee may be charged forpilotage, hauling, mooring and other services rendered to vessels at suchrates as the TAMP may fix and, therefore, TAMP is the only authorityconcerned to take a decision in the matter.