The Hindu Business Line : Port trusts in a fix over filling up `other interests' category

AN attempt to induct qualified people to represent the `other interests' category on the board of trustees of 11 major port trusts may come a cropper if the new Shipping Minister, Mr T.R. Baalu, has his way.

With the approval of the then Shipping Minister, Mr Shatrughan Sinha, the Ministry had issued a circular to all the major port trusts on February 19 notifying the guidelines to be followed for the appointment of trustees under the category of `other interests'.

Mr Sinha had approved the guidelines transcending political barriers, which was described as "path-breaking" by the Ministry officials.

However, Mr Baalu does not appear to be comfortable with these guidelines.

Given his reservations on the matter, a port trust official said that it would be interesting to see what stand the Ministry would take on a writ petition filed in the Kerala High Court by the Kochi Port Staff Association (KPSA) on the appointment of trustees representing `other interests'.

The petition, filed by Mr P.M. Mohamed Haneef, Working President, KPSA, had alleged that the Government was appointing political persons as trustees to represent the `other interests' category.

Incidentally, the petition was filed in 2002 when Mr Ved Prakash Goyal was the Shipping Minister in the NDA Government and much before the term of the board of trustees of eight (including Kochi) out of the 11 major port trusts expired on March 31 this year and is due for reconstitution.

The Major Port Trusts Act makes it mandatory for the port trusts to convene a meeting of the board of trustees at least once in three months.

"The Ministry has so far only notified the official trustees but that itself has created confusion among the port trusts. Together with a delay in the appointment of trustees representing `other interests' as well as labour trustees in some of these eight ports, not a single meeting could be called between April 1 and June 30," said Mr M.L. Bellani, Secretary, All-India Port and Dock Workers Federation.

The writ petition was filed anticipating that the Government may appoint political persons as trustees under the `other interests' category while reconstituting the boards in future.

Recently, Mr Haneef also filed an urgent petition in the High Court along with a copy of the guidelines praying for an early disposal of his writ petition, which is slated to come up for hearing soon.

"The issue has now become complicated. The Ministry's stand on the writ petition will indicate whether it would stick to the guidelines or change/annul it in the wake of a change of Government at the Centre," the port trust official said.

The guidelines, which list out the eligibility criteria/qualification of persons to be appointed as trustees representing `other interests', would remove the flexibility/discretion available to Shipping Ministers over this appointment.

With the MPT Act silent on the definition of persons who could be appointed under `other interests', successive Shipping Ministers had taken advantage of the legal ambiguity to pack this category with persons belonging to their respective political parties or to accommodate their loyalists.

While Mr Sinha had decided to stop this practice by agreeing to the guidelines, Mr Baalu appears to favour the earlier approach, the union leader said.