In a major setback to the Ministry of shipping and Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), the Orissa High Court on Friday quashed their notifications that had unilaterally extended the limits of KoPT.
A two-member division bench of the High Court consisting of Chief Justice V Gopalagowda and Justice B N Mohapatra rejected the two notifications, terming them illegal. First, the Ministry of shipping and later the KoPT authorities had issued notifications to expand the port limits.
On November 10 last year, the KoPT, through a notification, had extended the port limits.
Besides scrapping the notifications, the High Court admitted that the unilateral extension of KoPT's limits would seal the fate of seven upcoming minor ports proposed along the coast of north Orissa by blocking their access.
The court also observed that the state government was not consulted by the KoPT authorities before issuing the notification.
Earlier this year, Keonjhar Nava Nirman Parishad, an NGO (non-governmental organization), had filed a PIL (public interest litigation) 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.
This unilateral decision of KoPT had snowballed into a major controversy with the Orissa government sore over the fact that it was not consulted by the KoPT authorities before issue of notification.
The Orissa government had complained to the Centre that KoPT's move to locate its transloading facility near the coastal waters of Orissa will severely affect the business of Dhamara port, a 50:50 joint venture of Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and also hamper the development of future ports north of Dhamara. Dhamara Port has an exclusivity agreement with the Orissa government, according to which no other port facility can be created within 25 km.
The revised limits of KoPT extends more than 200 km south of Haldia into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of 28,646 sq km, blocking the entire coast of North Orissa where seven ports were to come up. The site where these new ports were to come up, are Chudamani, Chandipur, Inchudi, Subarnarekha mouth, Bichitrapur and Bahabalpur.
The KoPT authorities had filed a petition in the Supreme Court, demanding withdrawal of cases pending in the Orissa and Calcutta High Courts relating to extension of KoPT limits. The apex court, however, had rejected the petition.
In response, the Orissa government had also filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, requesting the apex court not to decide anything on the issue without hearing Orissa's point of view.
