SC rejects KoPT's special leave petition

The Supreme Court today rejected the special leave petition (SLP) filed by the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) challenging the interim order of the Orissa High Court on the port limit expansion issue.

The High Court, in its interim order last September, had directed KoPT to maintain status quo on its expansion plan till disposal of a public interest litigation in this regard. The interim order had been challenged by the port trust in the apex court.

“As the matter, at that point of time, was pending at the High Court, the SC had directed KoPT to wait for the disposal of the case and kept the case open at the same time,” said Sarthak Nayak, Counsel for Dhamara Port Company Ltd (DPCL), a party to the case.

Since the matter has now been settled by the Orissa High Court, the Supreme Court today rejected the SLP, he added.

In its final order, the Orissa High Court on November 25, 2011, had scrapped the notifications issued by the Ministry of shipping and KoPT for expansion of the port limits.

Keonjhar Nava Nirman Parishad, an NGO (non-governmental organization), had filed the PIL in the Orissa High Court, seeking scrapping of the notification issued on November 10, 2010. Later Dhamara Port Company Ltd (DPCL) had become a party to the case and Subarnarekha Port authorities had filed a similar case in the High Court, opposing KoPT's move.

All these legal tussle had emerged after KoPT unilaterally came out with notification extending the Kolkata Port limits more than 200 km south of Haldia into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of 28,646 sq km and in the process, blocking the entire coast of North Orissa where seven ports were proposed to come up. The sites where these new ports were to be established are Chudamani, Chandipur, Inchudi, Subarnarekha mouth, Bichitrapur and Bahabalpur.