In yet another jolt to the private shore-handling agents, who had been operating at the Haldia and Kolkata ports minting hundreds of crores literally offering the Government the peanuts by violating related sections of the MPT Act, the Supreme Court has dismissed a special leave petition filed by cargo operators Ripley & Co praying for a restriction on tendering out of shore handling operation as directed by the Shipping Ministry and subsequently the Kolkata Port Trust.
The Apex Court order is considered a major victory by a whistle-blower group that had been struggling to end the monopoly business of the cargo handlers at the cost of the Government exchequer and the end consumers’ pocket, sources said.
After hearing the matter on November 12 Division Bench of Justices R Dave and Kurien Joseph “was inter alia pleased to dismiss the SlP,” a senior functionary of the Haldia Dock Officers’ Forum said adding with the above order the December 2012 decision of the KoPT to engage contractors for shore handling works at HDC, fix ceiling rates for cargo handlers and collect royalty from them stands vindicated.”
Unlike the UPA Government the new NDA Government had cracked whip on the respective Departments to check ongoing corruption involving several thousand crores — that was reported in The Pioneer— following which the KoPT had issued orders to tender out the shore handling operations.
This order was, however, challenged in the Calcutta High Court where the cargo operators got a jolt and moved the Supreme Court.