The Hindu Business Line : Kolkata Port Trust board yet to be constituted

The post of Deputy Chairman for KDS has remained vacant for the past few months, ever since Mr M.A. Bhaskarachar was appointed Deputy Chairman of New Mangalore port.

The post of deputy chairman for Haldia dock fell vacant recently when Mr M.L. Meena returned to the West Bengal Government on completion of his four-year term.

Other board members

Of the balance 19 members, the names of only four have been finalised so far. These include two labour representatives and one representative each from the Railways and the Indian Navy. The Railways will be represented by the Chief Freight Traffic Manager of the South Eastern Railway and Indian Navy by the Naval Officer in charge.

The names of the Transport Secretary of the West Bengal Government, the Chief Commissioner of Customs and the representative of the Coast Guard too are believed to have been finalised but the formal notification from the Centre is still awaited.

There are various user groups, shipping interests, clearing and forwarding agents, stevedores, chambers of commerce and others keen to have their representations on the Board of Trustees and they lobby with appropriate authorities in Delhi.

But then it will be rash to assume that all of them will be represented on the board. Even nomination of government organisations, earlier considered almost a certainty, can no longer be taken for granted. For example, earlier the representatives of Indian Oil Corporation and Shipping Corporation of India used to be on the board but not any more.

Then there are those who represent "other interests", normally political appointees. On the 2004-06 board, two local Congress leaders and one leader of the Forward Seamen's Union of India, the CITU-affiliated union of seafarers, represented other interests. It remains to be seen who are selected this time by the Shipping Minister.

Inquiries with KoPT reveal that the constitution of the board would always take time. The first meeting of the last board was held more than three months after the expiry of the previous board. "We can hold board meeting once the names of all others than those of other interests have been finalised,'' the KoPT sources said.