Ahmedabad: The BJP government in Gujarat on Wednesday sought to refute Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s allegation that its proposed policy favours the Adani group, and claimed that it will apply equally to all port operators.
The government also stated that there was no maximum permissible period of 50 years for providing concession to port operators as claimed by Ramesh in his post on X.
“Gujarat has been a leader in the maritime sector and currently handles the largest number of cargoes in the country. Based on the BOOT Policy 1997, Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) has entered into various concession agreements with an initial period of 30 years and with a provision for further extension afterwards for the development of ports through private and joint sector mode,” said the statement.
These ports include Pipavav, Mundra, Hazira, Dahej, Chhara and Jafarabad, it said.
There have been several requests from port operators to extend the term of concession agreements, including proposals from PLL (Dahej) in 2012 and 2013, from APM Terminals (Pipavav) between 2011 and 2021 and from APSEZ Mundra in 2015 and 2021, the Gujarat government said.
As the first concession agreement with APM Terminal for Pipavav Port is set to expire in 2028, a policy decision on the extension of the concession agreement was necessary to provide clarity to investors involved in the port sector and avoid disruption of cargo movement, said the statement.
“As per GIDB (Gujarat Industrial Development Board) Act, there is no maximum permissible period of 50 years. Many other coastal states such as Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, have port concession periods ranging from 30-99 years. The proposal of GMB was submitted to the Government after obtaining due approval of its Board,” said the government.
“In contrast to what Ramesh had claimed, the proposed policy will apply equally to all port operators instead of benefiting one port operator and all existing port operators can benefit from the policy, so no question of monopoly arises,” it said.
The process of deliberation on the proposed policy was initiated several years ago at the request of the port developers whose concession period was expiring in the next decade, and as alleged, there was no rush in the process, said the statement.
“Moreover, till date, no policy on extension has been announced by the government. The proposed policy is still under consideration. Therefore, GMB strongly rejects the unverified, baseless allegations,” it said.
Earlier in the day, Ramesh alleged that the Gujarat government was helping Adani Ports to “secure a monopoly” in the state’s port sector.
The Congress general secretary in-charge of communications claimed that the Gujarat government grants private ports a 30-year concession on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis, after which ownership gets transferred to the government.
As per this model, Adani Ports currently controls Mundra, Hazira and Dahej ports, he said.
But before the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, Adani Ports requested the GMB to extend this concession period by another 45 years to 75 years in total, Ramesh claimed.
“This was much beyond the maximum permissible period of 50 years, but the GMB hastened to request the Gujarat Government to do so anyways. The GMB was in such a hurry that it did so without approval from its Board, resulting in the file’s return,” the former Union minister alleged.
