The Odisha and the West Bengal Governments and the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) on Tuesday agreed in the Supreme Court to resolve the KoPT expansion issue amicably.
The dispute between the Odisha Government and KoPT has originated since 2010 when the former came to know that the KoPT has extended its operational limits beyond the Kanika Island in Odisha.The State Government, however, moved the Odisha High Court as the Union Shipping Ministry justified the notification in which the KoPT’s operational area was extended without taking consent of the Odisha Government.
The dispute reached the Supreme Court with Union Shipping Ministry also being a party. Both the KoPT and the Ministry received a setback in November 2011 after the Odisha High Court quashed their notifications that sought to extend the port’s limits arbitrarily.Besides scrapping the notifications, the High Court admitted that the unilateral extension of the KoPT’s limits would seal the fate of seven upcoming minor ports proposed along the coast of north Odisha by blocking their access.
The Odisha Government opposed the KoPT’s move citing its possible adverse impact on cargo flow to the Dhamra, Paradip and Subarnarekha.The Odisha Government had complained to the Centre that the KoPT’s move to locate its transloading facility near the coastal waters of Odisha would severely affect the business of the Dhamra Port and also hamper the development of future ports. The Dhamra Port has an exclusivity agreement with the Odisha Government, according to which no other port facility can be created within 25 km from it.