Draft Bill of the Indian Ports draws flak

KOCHI: Major trade unions have come out against the provisions in the draft Bill of the Indian Ports (Consolidated) Act 2011. The trade union leaders are of the view that certain new chapters, clauses and provisions  incorporated in the Bill, which was prepared by consolidating 103-year-old Indian Ports Act 1908 and Indian Major Ports Act 1963, are detrimental to the ports industry.What irked the trade unions is the provision that suggests for converting  port trusts into corporate entities. “The move to convert port trusts to corporate entities cannot be accepted. Corporitisation is only a smokescreen to sell out port and its properties,” said P M Mohammed Haneefa, secretary All-India Port and Dock Workers Federation. “The ultimate aim is to privatise the ports. If port trusts are converted to companies, then the government can sell shares. We cannot say who are going to buy them. Ultimately those who hold the major share will have the right for decision making,” he said.“In the present system, the board of trustees having representatives of various stakeholders protects the interests of all those who are related to the activities of port. If corporitisation is introduced, bureaucrats will take over the control and stakeholders will not have a say,” Haneefa said.The Board of Trustees of the Cochin Port Trust includes representatives of state government, Defence, Customs, Railway, Coast Guard,  labourers and Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) and people of other interests such as steamer agents, clearing and forwarding agents and exporters.Haneefa, who is also the working president of the Cochin Port Staff Association (CPSA), said the standing committee of Rajya Sabha on Transport and Tourism, had already clarified that corporitisation of ports was unnecessary.Terming the proposal as ‘backdoor privatisation’, Cochin Port Employees Union (CPEU) secretary C D Nandakumar said the consolidation of two acts itself was unnecessary as administration of ports by board of trustees was going well. “What the government has to do is the modernisation of the existing facilities. If privatised, the ports will be in the hands of even foreigners and we cannot accept this,” said Nandakumar.However, Union Shipping Secretary K Mohandas said that restructuring a government organisation is related to the policy of the state or Central Government. “There is no provision that is harmful for the interest of labourers. Instead there are some provisions which benefit labourers,” Mohandas said.With a long coastline spanning 7,600 km,  there are 13 major ports (12 government and 1 corporate) in the country.