Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), state’s ports regulator, is planning to increase waterfront charges on all minor ports. Also proposed are a host of other state charges for port-users in Gujarat.
The state government is likely to introduce Gujarat Maritime Board (Amendment) Bill 2008 in the coming monsoon session.
Under the GMB Act of 1981, the state levies waterfront charges from users. Now, the government plans to introduce a host of other charges including litherage charges, licence fees, special charge on cargo as well as passengers among others.
The GMB controls over 40 minor ports, which include Sikka, Dahej, Porbander, Okha, Bedi, Navlakhi, Magdalla, Jafrabad, Bhavnagar, Veraval and Mandvi among others.
“The new charges will come into effect from April 1, 2008 with retrospective effect. This will boost the state revenues, of which 15 per cent will be allocated to the GMB for administrative purposes,” said a senior government official. However, he said the government is in the process of finalising the tariff structure.
Gujarat handled nearly 80 per cent of the total traffic in India’s minor and intermediate ports in 2006-07, and over 70 per cent of the total cargo traffic in the country’s non-major ports.
The state, which boasts of a 1600 km-long coastline, handles 11.5 per cent of the total cargo traffic in India’s major ports.
