The shipping ministry has rejigged its plan to corporatise the 12 major ports under the Centre?s control by placing the Haldia Dock Complex lower on the corporatisation priority list. The ministry has instead chosen to go with New Mangalore Port Trust ahead of the Haldia Dock Complex.
Haldia was to be corporatised after the Jawarharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which operates the Nhava Sheva port, the country?s largest container handling port. The government wants to corporatise the country?s major ports to give them more financial and managerial autonomy.
Currently, all major ports, barring Ennore Port, have to approach the government for every decision. Ennore Port was registered as a company in 2001. However, the corporatisation of ports has been opposed by employees? unions.
Shipping secretary K Mohandas told FE that the Haldia Dock Complex is very old and stiff opposition is likely from workers there too. ?New Mangalore Port is fairly new, in comparison to others, and we can think of corporatising it after we are through with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust,? Mohandas said. Haldia is a 150-year-old facility while New Mangalore is 38 years old.
The secretary said that corporatisation of the Haldia Dock Complex could happen before the ports at Mumbai and Kolkata. ?As Mumbai and Kolkata ports are big in size, we are thinking of going for their corporatisation last,? he said.
The government wants to hand over the management of all major ports in the country to corporate boards after converting the trusts into companies under the Companies Act, 1956.
To give its plan a legal backing, the Centre had also come out with a draft Bill in 2011 that gives it the right to divest ownership and control of major ports in the country. As per the Indian Ports Bill, 2011, the government would also decide the constitution of the management and shareholding of the company created after the conversion of the trust.
The Bill is an integration of existing Acts in the port sector ? the Ports Act, 1908, and the Major Ports Act, 1963.
The shipping ministry has been trying since 2007 to transform JNPT into a corporate entity. In a draft Cabinet note floated last year, it had also promised a bonus to workers in case they support JNPT?s transition to a company.
However, the note was later withdrawn for further consultation with workers. ?Taking workers on board is a lengthy process and is expected to take some more time, but we are sure that nothing will be done without their approval,? Mohandas said.
