Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Slump in Madurai CONCOR depot operations hits exporters

By S. Annamalai

MADURAI JULY 4. The fate of the Container Corporation of India's inland container depot at Koodal Nagar here hangs in balance. With Customs officials winding up their operations, the ICD is under "suspended animation''. Exporters from Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Virudhunagar, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram are a worried lot as export and import operations in the ICD have come to a grinding halt since Monday.

Exporters, according to R. V. Narayanan, secretary, Association of Exporters and Importers, were informed by the CONCOR's regional office in Chennai that the ICD would suspend its operations from July 1. Those who are to execute their orders from July second week are in a fix. Says G. Anand, an exporter, "I have to despatch a consignment on July 12. I do not know what to do''.

The Centre gave its approval for setting up the ICD in October 1998. The depot, second of its kind in the State, (the first one in Chennai) became functional in 1999. Trade and industry represented by the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry,had assured overwhelming patronage for the ICD as it hoped that the depot would serve as a gateway to the hinterland. But in the months to follow, business was not encouraging. Against an expectation of about 100 containers per month, it handled only a few scores. In the last two months, it was only 18 containers.

Business was not up to the expectations of the CONCOR due to reasons such as proximity of the Tuticorin port to Madurai and road transport being cheaper and quicker. But exporters point out that any ICD will take time to pick up as the industry has to switch over to a new mode. They wonder why the CONCOR should not patronise the Madurai ICD as even the container terminals in Coimbatore and Tirupur took some years to look up.

However, the immediate reason for the ICD suspending its activities is the CONCOR's inability to pay salaries to Customs staff. It has been making quarterly payments of around Rs. 4 lakhs to the staff clearing goods at the Madurai ICD. without making any profits.

Audit objections were raised on payments following which the CONCOR expressed its inability to pay anymore.

As an alternative, the Central Excise and Customs Commissionerate here was approached to allow payment to staff on `case basis', as and when there was traffic in the depot. But the proposal was shot down as rules did not permit such an arrangement. After payment for the April-June quarter was made, the Customs staff were withdrawn from the ICD and posted elsewhere.

The suspension of activities in the ICD does not mean that it will be closed down, say official sources. Efforts are being made to give temporary licences to Customs house agents to operate from Madurai. Thirty-three agencies applied for licences.

The `monopoly' enjoyed by the Tuticorin agents will break once `temporary agents' start working. Simultaneously, the handling rates will be made competitive.

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