The Ministry of Shipping is working on a proposal to club Indian Ports Act 1908 and Major Ports Act 1963 into a single consolidated act  In a major step towards modernisation and upgradation of existing laws that govern operation of ports—both major and minor—in the country, the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) is working towards a policy whereby the two acts namely Indian Ports Act 1908 and Major Ports Act 1963 will be consolidated into a single act. The consolidated act will oversee operations of both major and minor ports in India. Although a lot needs to be done in this regard, industry insiders opine that a single act governing the Indian ports augurs well for the Indian shipping industry, particularly for the major ports operating in the country.A welcome move
In this context, Biplav Kumar, deputy chairman of Paradip Port Trust, over a telephonic conversation with a ShippingBiz360 correspondent, said, “Both Indian Ports Act 1908 and Major Ports Act 1963 have become old and outdated. Since the inception of these two acts, the Indian shipping sector has undergone tremendous transformation in its working structure, with significant private participation now being witnessed in the sector. Considering the major port projects that have been undertaken by the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP), a new act is the need of the hour and the move has been welcomed by MoS.”
Earlier all ports were governed under Indian Ports Act, 1908, but with the coming of several minor ports, the Major Ports Act 1963 was formulated exclusively dedicated to supervise working of the major ports in the country.
Need for a level playing field
Commenting on amalgamation of these two acts into single comprehensive act, Rangam Kishore, chief executive director of Vizag Sea Port Pvt Ltd (VSPL), said, “With the coming of minor ports in the country, the pace of development has slackened for the major ports. Since minor ports are governed by the Indian Ports Act 1908 and are outside the purview of the Tariff Authority of Major Ports (TAMP), a single comprehensive act will provide a level playing field to the major ports in terms of infrastructure development, better railway networking etc. Currently, the tariff structure also differs to a great extent for major and minor ports of the country, which needs to be bridged.”
Proposals to come up in the new act
In the proposed single act, several sections dealing with topic related to major and minor ports is expected to be clubbed together. The proposed act may also lead to implementation of the Port Regulatory Authority Act, which would de-link TAMP, the apex body for responsible for fixing tariff at the major ports of the country. Notably, TAMP has been criticised because of its formulation of the tariff structure, which according to experts lacks flexibility and sometimes are too high, which reduces competitiveness of the major ports.
However, merger of these two acts into a single one needs approval of state governments, which is a challenging task, considering the different socio-economic aspects prevalent in different states. Therefore, the merger of these two acts will surely undergo a lot of debate before finally coming into effect.
Arup Choudhury |
