Land Policy for Major Ports 2010, details of which is mentioned in the MoS website, will be finalised in a month’s time to ensure more transparency in allotment of port land, among others The Indian shipping sector is well and truly on the course of a gigantic leap. After announcing that the sector will soon have a new maritime policy, the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) now proposes to issue a revised ‘Land Policy for Major Ports, 2010’. The details of the policy can be found in the MoS website, which will be finalised soon after taking into account feedback from various stakeholders and general public.
 Commenting on the new draft policy, A K Mukherjee, officer on special duty atthe Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), while speaking to a ShippingBiz360 correspondent said, “In the last land policy drafted in the year 2004, certain issues such as long-term lease of port land for a period of 99 years, leasing of land within the dock etc were left out. We hope that the new policy will take care of these issues.”
New land policy to bring in more transparency
The new land policy will down lay norms for allotment of port land to be followed by all the major port trusts, only barring land under the Gandhidham township of Kandla Port Trust. As per the policy, port land can be allotted on licence or lease basis, which will be applicable for all port projects undertaken on a Built Operate Transfer (BOT) basis. According to P K Janardhan, managing director of Anushree Enterprises, a mid-sized logistics firm in Mumbai, “We hope that the new land policy will bring in more transparency in allotment of port land, which will bring down various litigations filed in court regarding acquisition of land. The same will also help a great deal in expediting several port development projects.”
According to a release issued by MoS, considering the loss in trade suffered by major ports due to the economic meltdown and the rapid growth in traffic at the minor ports of the country, an urgent need has been felt to review the various policies governing the major ports in India, handling about 75% of the total cargo handled by the Indian ports (both major and non major).
Arup Choudhury |
