PANJIM: With the closure of iron ore mining activities, Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) has urged Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to modify the Consent to Operate granted to its berth number 9 to allow handling of all types of cargo. MPT has claimed that the Union Ministry for Shipping had declared the port capacity of 43.5 million tonnes per annum for all berths.
The Consent to Operate granted to MPT’s berth number 9 in September 2017 is restricted to iron ore handling.
“It may be noted that due to the prevailing ban in the mining of iron ore and the cancellation of existing mining leases, there is very limited scope of iron ore exports, at least during the current financial year. As such berth No 9 will remain idle or used sparsely if the Consent is restricted for handling iron ore alone,” MPT chief Engineer L A Mathew said in an application before GSPCB on Tuesday.
Mathew said that in view of the current circumstances, the port is left with no opinion but to handle all types of cargo at the berth. “You will kindly agree that no port can predict with certainty the types of cargo that it is likely to handle in view of the dynamics of the very volatile maritime trade and demands of the hinterland market that the port serves,” he said.
“Also the restrictive Consent issued by the Board can dent the commercial standing of the port and that the port my also lose out in competition to other private ports, which could be detrimental not only for MPT but also for the maritime trade from the State of Goa,” the officer added.
“In view of the same, it is requested that the Consent to Operate may kindly be modified to enable the port to handle all types of dry bulk, break bulk, liquid bulk, container and general cargo at the berth,” MPT has said.
Mathew pointed out that restricting the type of cargo to be handled as per the Consent under reference would therefore breach the statutory provisions of Section 37 and 38 of the Major Port Trust Act 1963.
He said that it is relevant to point out that as a part of infrastructure development and promoting ease of doing business, the Union Ministry of Shipping has scientifically determined the berth capacity of all the major ports and for MPT it is 43.5 million tonnes per annum for all the berths.
