Revision in scale of rates towards use of its premises for less than 11 months by the Visakhapatnam port consequent upon new land policy guidelines-2014 issued by the Ministry of Shipping has left the stevedores seething in anger.
Stevedores, who claim that they have been rendering yeoman service to the port, say that the hefty increase will be a ‘self-goal’ for the port at a time when it is facing stiff challenge from rival ports.
While the schedule of rates is meant for leases for over 11 months for BOT operators and others, the scale of rates is for licence holders for short duration use of land to stack cargo.
For the first category, notification is issued by Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) with two per cent annual escalation for a period of five years, for scale of rates, a separate notification is issued once in three years.
The latest guidelines were issued in January by the UPA Government to maximise revenue from land bank by assessing market value for commercial, industrial, and service sectors.
“For export and import trade, stevedores are the heart and soul. We use the port premises for stacking various commodities. Now, they have increased scale of rates by 10 times, which we fear will drive away cargo from the Visakhapatnam port to other ports,” Visakhapatnam Stevedores’ Association president Krishna Kumar told The Hindu .
The stevedores find fault with the Revenue Department for not making the valuation of lands in Kotaveedhi and other areas properly. However, the port authorities contend that though valuation per square yard had been made at Rs.30,000 per square yard, they had fixed the rate for service sector at much lower rate.
“If the port sticks to implementing the revised rates from August 20 as per Circular No. 504 issued on August 8, we have to pass on the additional burden to the customers,” pointed out another stevedore.
Port officials say a committee has been set up by the Ministry of Shipping to allay fears over guidelines on use of land by major ports.
