Gujarat may no more acquire land for projects under new port policy

Under new policy, private port developer would purchase the required land parcel directly from land owners.

As Gujarat, which accounts for for 74% of the traffic by all non-major ports in the country and the longest coastline amongst maritime states in India (1,600 km), readies its new port policy, it might include a clause that the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), an autonomous State Board which administers and regulates the 41 state-owned non-major ports of Gujarat, would no longer acquire land for port development.

The private port developer would purchase the required land parcel directly from land owners. 

A K Rakesh, vice chairman and chief executive officer of the GMB said, "We are working on fine tuning our existing port policy which is over two decades old. While we plan to retain the basic features of the policy, we are planning to make subtle changes. Like there is a plan to allocate the responsibility of buying land for a port project to the private developer."

Rakesh added that so far GMB has been acquiring the land for port projects, but if this change was brought about, it would avoid litigations as well bring down delays in projects. The new policy is likely to come up by the end of the year. 

Gujarat had come up with a port policy in 1995, and had planned for an integrated port-led development with focus on public-private-partnership projects.

Rakesh informed that the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) policy came up in 1997, and by 1999 the state came up with a model concession agreement which governs the terms and conditions according to which the PPPs in ports would be regulated and monitored. 

GMB so far was undertaking the work of land acquisition for ports. As Rakesh said, "If land is purchased directly by the developer, it would avoid litigation, and hence subsequent delays in projects." 

As for the new port policy, GMB is basically aiming to come up with a comprehensive port policy that would lay down the necessary policy framework for effective port led development in the state. 

From a 3% share of the nation's cargo handled through ports, GMB ports now account for 32% of the traffic. Rakesh claimed that if one considers only the non-major ports it would account for 74% of the cargo handled by all non-major ports of India. GMB currently administers 41 ports in Gujarat, except the major port of Kandla. 

As for the Sagarmala project, which envisages port-led development at the 12 major ports as well as 1,208 islands identified for development as part of the project, the first consultation meeting was held in Gujarat in end of June. 

Gujarat was asked to identify projects which could be taken up under the Sagarmala project, and it has suggested some projects across the dedicated freight corridor (DFC) project that passes through the state. The development of the identified and shortlisted projects would be undertaken on the various PPP models to the extent possible.

Rakesh added that one of the first projects to be taken up under the Sagarmala project would be to improve last mile connectivity projects, improving rail and road connectivity to ports like Chhara, Bedi etc.