The Hindu Business Line : New land use policy for major ports soon

The policy is expected to remove several ambiguities in the existing land use policy, which hampers major ports from taking decisions on issues that could improve the capacity and earnings.

Improving efficiency

Major ports are those under the Centre’s jurisdiction. The committee was set up in January — with officials from the Shipping Ministry and major port trusts as members — to recommend ways to improve efficiencies at the ports. The policy may also outline processes for taking decisions on issues such as leasing beyond 30-year period, provision of way-leave permissions for laying pipelines, allotting land on nomination basis for captive use and provision of lease within custom-bound area for setting up basic facilities.

For instance, on allowing the port authorities to allot land to a particular player for captive use on a nomination basis, a move to empower a committee of secretaries from some relevant ministries to take a decision is being discussed.

“The clarity would help cases like Neyvelli Lignite, which has moved to set up a captive facility in Tuticorin port,” said an official pointing out that major ports require the guidelines for a captive policy as this would help them attract large and dedicated customers.

Captive use policy will allow major port trusts to handover waterfront or port facilities to a public or private enterprise on nomination basis without going through a competitive bidding process.

Captive facilities

The Ministry has been attempting to have a policy for captive facilities in ports since the last few years. “Major port trusts usually hesitate taking decisions on captive facilities in the absence of a competitive bidding process, there might be audit-related issues in the Government set up,” explained an official. At the same time, the committee may also lay down administrative reforms that the port trusts should undertake.

“There is a need to computerise the entire land management system on the part of a port, and make available GIS-based data online for all stakeholders,” said an official source in the know.

Land on lease

One of the issues under consideration is whether port authorities should be allowed to provide land on lease basis within the custom-bound area for over 11 months. Now, structures such as conveyors, silos, pipelines and temporary transit sheds are required for sustained use, while a “licence” to do so is given for 11 months only.

Given the 11-month limit, investors are unwilling to construct these structures.

“In such a backdrop, either the port trust should do away with the 11-month limit or should itself create such structures and recover the cost through user charges,” said a source.

Another issue under consideration is whether ports should be mandated to allow way-leave permissions for laying pipelines from jetties to tank farms in case land is allotted to liquid cargo users.