Make changes in Indian Ports Bill: Stalin

Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday said that the draft Indian Ports Bill, 2022, is trying to centralise the administration of minor ports, which are currently administered by the State governments, and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make changes in the proposed Bill.

“Even though some of the suggestions from the maritime states and other stakeholders have been accommodated, I am afraid that the revised draft Bill still largely continues to ignore international and domestic experience that ports are best managed by local and regional governments. The growth trajectory of India’s port sector clearly shows that the non-major ports managed by the maritime states have grown faster than the major ports under the Union government. This was because the maritime states especially Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh facilitated the growth of non-major ports through private investments and business-friendly policies,” said the Chief Minister, in a DO letter addressed to the Prime Minister.

The Chief Minister also said that the draft Bill will stifle such State-specific initiatives by imposing a centralised regulatory regime on non-major ports.