The Andaman and Nicobar port will have to wait for the status of a major port as the Cabinet has deferred the decision on the matter, against the wishes of the shipping ministry. Shipping minister GK Vasan wants to give the Andaman and Nicobar Port independence in making its decision to expedite capacity addition for handling cargo at the islands.
?The matter was listed for discussion by the Cabinet in the last week of January, but objections from one minister at the eleventh hour acted as a stumbling block,? a senior government official told FE on the condition of anonymity. The name of the minister who objected to the proposal could not be ascertained.
Though the shipping ministry remains positive on giving the status of a major port to the Andaman and Nicobar port, it has again started the work of drafting the Cabinet note and is likely to float it soon. ?The minister wants a decision as soon as possible,? the official added.
Vasan?s call for urgency on the issue is understandable as the decision has already been delayed by more than six months. After taking over as the shipping minister in the United Progressive Alliance?s second tenure at the Centre, Vasan had set a target to turn
Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands into major ports.
The intention was announced in July 2009 under the 100-day agenda of his ministry and was supposed to have been accomplished by mid-November. The two ports operate as departments of the ministry and have to take its prior permission before executing the planned projects.
The ministry is now understood to have decided to leave the Lakshadweep port as a non-major port only, at least for the time being. There are 12 major ports and 187 minor ports in the country at present.
The conversion of minor ports into major ones will also aid the pace of port capacity addition under the government?s National Maritime Development Programme, which seeks to increase the cargo-handling strength of major ports to more than 1,000 million tonne from under 600 million tonne at present.