The Major Ports Authorities Bill, 2016 was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 16, 2016. The Bill repeals the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963.
Key Features of the Bill
Application:The Bill will apply to the major ports of Chennai, Cochin, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Kandla, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Paradip, V.O. Chidambaranar, and Vishakhapatnam.The central government may notify more major ports.
Major Port Authorities Board:Under the 1963 Act, all major ports are managed by the respective Board of Port Trusts that have members appointed by the Central Government.The Bill provides for the creation of a Board of Major Port Authority for each major port.
The new Major Ports Authority Bill, 2016 would help to impart faster and transparent decision making benefiting the stakeholders and better project execution capability.
The Bill is aimed at reorienting the governance model in central Ports to landlord port model in line with the successful global practice.
