Minor ports may come under TAMP purview

To a query on the government’s decision to corporatise some of the major ports, the chairman said this would create an anomaly as there would be two sets of major ports – corporate ones under the Companies Act and those under the Major Port Trust Act of 1963. He said the MPT Act under which TAMP was created talked of major ports and, therefore, the government had to decide about extending the jurisdiction of TAMP to corporatised major ports.

Satyam, who was in Kandla last week to hold a public hearing on the revision of lease rent of the port land following a public agitation, denied he had ordered stay on implementation of the new rates till TAMP reviewed his earlier order approving the new rates fixed by the Kandla Port Trust (KPT) last year.

He clarified that TAMP had given its approval last year on the basis of facts provided by the KPT, but the need for review had arisen in the light of new facts that had emerged. He said he had heard all the parties and a final decision in this regard would be taken after consulting two other TAMP members.

KPT had recovered land development charges from 5,500 lease holders at a rate of Rs 25 per sq meter since 1983. The Ministry of Surface Transport later asked the major ports to bring their rates at par with the prevalent market price of land in the area.

A Rate Revision Committee headed by KPT chairman, with the district collector and joint secretary from the Ministry from Surface Transport as members, raised the rent to Rs 400 per sq metre.

This committee took into consideration `juntri rates’ charged by the sub-registrar of the State Government.