MADURAI
A public interest litigation petition was filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday, seeking a direction against operation of barges for exporting rocks from Thoothukudi old port.
The petitioner, T.V.A. Brighter of Thoothukudi, claimed that export and import of boulders through barges were being carried out from Zone B (Thoothukudi old port) instead of Zone A (the new port at V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust).
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He said Zone A usually handled major exports, thus generating income, whereas Zone B was used by Indian Coast Guard and accommodated smaller boats. The rocks were initially exported though Zone A, but since 2000, they were allowed to be exported through Zone B.
The petitioner complained that as per the Scale of Rates (SoR), berth hire charges from Zone A were collected in dollars, but no such charges were collected for using Zone B. Even pilotage, wharfage and storage charges that were being collected in Zone A were not collected in Zone B, leading to a huge revenue loss.
He further said allowing barge operation from Zone B also caused environmental hazards and posed a threat to the flora and fauna of the Gulf of Mannar, he said.
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Taking up the plea for hearing, a Division Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Sathish Kumar directed notice to the port authorities and posted the case for further hearing after two weeks.