 "Centre introduces Indian Ports Bill 2025 to amend 117-year-old legislation")
Union ports, shipping and waterways minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday introduced the Indian Ports Bill 2025 in the Lok Sabha, proposing several amendments to the 117-year-old legislation.
“India has witnessed expansion in the number of operational ports as well as the overall traffic being handled at ports. Since the enactment of the 1908 Act, there have been significant changes in both the commercial operations of ports and the international norms for prevention of pollution of ports. In order to facilitate the development of the port sector in a planned manner, it was felt necessary to reflect the present-day frameworks, incorporate India’s international obligations, address emerging environmental concerns and aid the consultative development of the ports sector in the national interest,” the bill’s statement of objects and reasons read.
The Indian Ports Act, 1908 (the 1908 Act) was a pre-independence legislation, enacted to consolidate the laws on ports and port charges, the minister told Parliament in his statement.
It consisted of provisions on the powers of the central government and the state governments for extending or withdrawing the applicability of the Act and altering port limits, appointment of port officials and their powers and duties, safety and conservation of ports, levy of port dues, fees and other charges, penalties, and supplemental provisions.
Since a previous version of the bill had been contested by states, officials in the know said that the legislation introduced in Parliament takes a more reconciliatory approach after taking views of the states and deliberations at the level of the Union Cabinet.
By consolidating laws, empowering state maritime boards, and establishing the Maritime State Development Council, the bill attempts a way for integrated port development and improved ease of doing business, Sonowal said.
“The Indian Ports Bill addresses critical aspects such as pollution control, disaster management, emergency response, security, safety, navigation, and data management at ports. It also seeks to ensure India’s compliance with international obligations and maritime conventions. To safeguard India’s port infrastructure, the bill includes provisions for port conservation and introduces adjudicatory mechanisms for resolving port-related disputes efficiently,” he added.
A draft bill had been floated in 2022, where officials in the shipping ministry also claimed that concerns of states had been addressed. The draft ended up meeting staunch opposition from coastal states, which raised concerns that the widened scope and mandate of the Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) would take powers away from states to control their own ports.
In an earlier iteration of the bill, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin had reportedly written a letter to heads of all coastal states, exhorting them to register their protest against the bill as it would take away many operational powers of non-major ports from state governments.
States like Odisha and Gujarat had also written to then shipping minister Mansukh Mandaviya echoing similar concerns against the draft law.
Members of Parliament (MPs) echoed similar concerns on Friday with the new legislation as well.
“This bill encroaches on the power of state governments… the bill seeks to centralise control over ports, which interferes with distribution of powers between the Union and state governments,” K Radhakrishnan from CPIM said.
Similarly, TMC MP Saugata Roy said that the bill does not do enough to control private ports.