The Rajya Sabha passed the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020. The bill will now go to the President of India for his assent.
Salient features of the Major Port Authorities Bill 2020:
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The new Bill has proposed a simplified composition of the Board of Port Authority which will comprise 11 to 13 Members from the present 17 to 19 Members representing various interests.
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The Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) has been redefined.
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Port Authority has been given powers to fix tariff which will act as a reference tariff for purposes of bidding for PPP projects.
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PPP operators will be free to fix tariff based on market conditions.
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The Board of Port Authority has been delegated the power to fix the scale of rates for other port services and assets including land.
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An Adjudicatory Board has been proposed to be created to carry out the residual function of the erstwhile TAMP for Major Ports.
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The Board of each Major Port shall be entitled to create a specific master plan in respect of any development or infrastructure.
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Provisions of CSR & development of infrastructure by Port Authority have been introduced.
Significance:
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The bill aims to promote the expansion of port infrastructure and facilitate trade and commerce.
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It aims at decentralizing decision making and to infuse professionalism in the governance of major ports.
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It imparts faster and transparent decision making benefiting the stakeholders and better project execution capability.
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It is aimed at reorienting the governance model in central ports to the landlord port model in line with the successful global practice.
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This will also help in bringing transparency in operations of Major Ports.
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This will empower the Major Ports to perform with greater efficiency on account of full autonomy in decision making and by modernizing the institutional framework of Major Ports.
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