Govt plans to corporatise key ports & services

MUMBAI: The government on Friday clarified that it would go ahead with corporatisation of major ports and privatisation of port services.
The government has however said it would follow the landlord port model, and would never privatise major ports. It has also assured agitated labour unions that it would protect workers’ interests when ports are corporatised.
The unions had claimed the government’s move towards corporatisation of major ports was just a first step to their privatisation.
“Government will continue to follow the landlord model. This means the government will remain the owner of the port, with services like terminal handling, stevedoring, stuffing/de-stuffing and transportation handled by private players,� Shipping Minister Vedprakash Goyal said in Mumbai on Friday.
PM AB Vajpayee had recently told a delegation of labour union leaders that the process of privatising government-owned major ports was irreversible. “The PM said increasing global competition and economic factors have to be kept in mind. The process of setting up container terminals with private participation in as many places as possible will be actively pursued to make up for lost time in the area of containerisation,� said Goyal.
However, the PM recommended the delegation appear before a standing committee of the Indian parliament and express their views on why they opposed the corporatisation of major ports.
The bill, aimed at amending the Major Port Trusts Act ’63, in order to facilitate the conversion of these ports from a trustee set-up into corporate entities, is currently before the standing committee of parliament.
“Vajpayee told union leaders that privatisation has been the stated policy of successive governments since 1991 and this could not be reversed,� said a senior government official who accompanied the delegation. “Handing over major ports to foreign shipping cartels will strengthen the monopoly of a few powerful shipping companies which will be free to dictate port charges and dues as they like, which will adversely affect India’s exports,� said SR Kulkarni, president, All India Port & Dock Workers’ Federation.
According to Kulkarni, the major ports being the lifeline of the country should not be handed over to MNCs.
“In all major ports, the Indian Navy has their vital installations and communication systems, and therefore, it will have serious implications if the ports are privatised,� he said.