The Water Transport Workers Federation of India has urged the Shipping Ministry to desist from the move to divest its stake in Dredging Corporation of India in the best interests of major ports.
The move, according to the federation, will pave the way for cartelisation of private dredging firms — both foreign and domestic — to carry out dredging works in major ports by charging exorbitant rates. It may not be feasible or advisable for the Ministry to depend on private firms to carry out dredging works when ongoing projects in the port sector are in the pipeline to enable the shipping channels navigable.
According to CD Nandakumar, President of the federation, DCI has already job in at least eight major ports and Southern Naval Command as well as maintenance dredging works. DCI was established in 1976 to cater to the dredging needs of the port sector to ensure safe navigable channels.
Until then, each major ports were equipped with own dredgers and with the formation of DCI, major ports had given up their own dredgers and depended more on this public sector firm for dredging purpose to ensure navigability.
He pointed out that the DCI is continuing maintenance dredging in Kochi since 2011 and supported the port in conducting Nautical Depth Concept Study, which enabled the management in reducing the annual dredging cost by 25 per cent.
He also cited the instance of private dredging firms abandoning the capital dredging works midway in Kochi prior to the commissioning of the Vallarpadam trans-shipment terminal.