Rajya Sabha passed the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020 on February 10. 84 members supported the bill while 44 opposed it during the voting.
Key Points
- The bill aims to provide for the operation, planning, and regulation of major ports in the country. The bill also seeks to provide greater autonomy to these ports.
- The bill will be replacing the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963.
- The Bill will be applicable to the major ports of Cochin, Chennai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Kolkata, Kandla, Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Paradip, V.O., Vishakhapatnam, and Chidambaranar.
- The bill calls for creating a Board of Major Port Authority for each major port. These Boards will replace the existing Port Trusts.
- The Bill provides for setting up an Adjudicatory Board by the central government. This Board will replace the existing Tariff Authority for Major Ports constituted under the 1963 Act.
- The bill will help the ports to develop world-class infrastructure and will also enhance transparency in their functioning.
- It was also made clear that there is no provision to privatize the ports in the country.
- The bill is to empower the ports by making them more competitive when compared to private ports.
It was informed in Rajya Sabha that the major ports in the country have recorded double the profit from its figures in the previous regime. The Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020 was introduced in Lok Sabha in March 2020.