Days after the pull-out of ABG Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT) from West Bengal, the state Congress has demanded the dismantling of the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) board, alleging nexus between its members and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Senior Congress leader and the Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is likely to meet shipping minister G K Vasan next week regarding this. “I have sought an appointment with the shipping minister. We want the Centre to dismantle the port’s board, as it has more than seven members who have links with one company, Ripley. KoPT is working with vested interests and the operations at Haldia are run through a political nexus with the TMC. We want a full enquiry on the law and order issues that led to the ABG pullout,” said Chowdhury.
HBT had written to the port seeking termination of its 10-year contract (2010-2020) for operations at berth number 2 and 8 at Haldia Dock, citing law and order issues. The firm was allegedly forced to pull out due to militant trade unionism by the TMC-backed Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress (INTTUC).
According to officials close to the development, at least seven board members have direct and indirect relations with Ripley and Co., promoted by former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Sadhan Bose. Ripley has a monopoly in operations of manual berths at Haldia. Ripley officials have refused to comment on the allegations.
Earlier, state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya had written a letter to the Prime Minister and the shipping minister seeking intervention. “Haldia operations are driven by the local political clout. Unless the Centre intervenes, the entire economy of West Bengal and North East India will be affected, and that too for individual gains,” Chowdhury added.
KoPT had earlier distanced itself from the allegations saying that the port’s board tried to cooperate with HBT and wanted it to continue operations at Haldia.
However, KoPT sources noted that the allegations are baseless. “The board is appointed by the shipping ministry, headed by a Congress minister,” said a port official.
The issue, compared to the pullout of Tata Motors from Singur, had invited ire from various corners, especially after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the law and order problems were a conspiracy of the media and the CPI(M).
HBT’s operations at Haldia were making losses due to repeated default on their agreement by KoPT. HBT had an accumulated loss of Rs 60 crore from Haldia operations since 2010. The issue took a violent turn after the retrenchment of 275 employers on September 22.
In a damage-control exercise, the state government is planning an international trade fare at Haldia and the state’s industries and commerce minister will visit the industrial belt on Tuesday.
