Agency grills senior KoPT officials, seeks documents pertaining to tendering actions, cargo handling
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has questioned senior officials of the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) in connection with the alleged scam in the Haldia Dock Complex (HDC). The agency has also asked the Chief Vigilance Oofficer of KoPT to hand over all documents pertaining to tendering actions, cargo handling, shore operations, handling agents licence, etc. to it within one month.
It is learnt that the CBI is probing the alleged involvement of some senior KoPT officials and loopholes in procedures that allowed a particular company of a prominent Kolkata businessman and a ex-Trinamool MP, and its sister concerns, to bag shore operations for cargo handling and other activities at Haldia Docks, which comes under KoPT, for years. The CBI officials are expected to confront these officials again once they examine the documents.
Sources said that the agency is working towards gathering evidence in one of the worst scams to have hit any port trust in the country. The magnitude of this scam is believed to be much bigger than some of the scams that have hit the nation recently. Besides KoPT officials, the company under the scanner is Ripley & Co promoted by ex-TMC MP Swapan Sadhan (Tutu) Bose and his son Rajya Sabha member Srinjoy Bose.
Sources in the Shipping Ministry said that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s office has sought all details pertaining to the alleged scam. Besides this, a complaint against a former Shipping Minister for having nominated six people allegedly close to him, in the KoPT is also being looked into. It is alleged that this nomination was made while the election Code of Conduct was in force. “The Minister’s office has sought details on the issue,” said an official.
The CBI probe began last week after Shipping Ministry headed by Nitin Gadkari swung into action on a complaint filed a BJP MP from Gujarat Mansukhbhai D Vasava.
Vasava had alleged that handling agents at ports freely enter into contracts with the exporters/importers and charge them as per their contracted terms rates not approved by Tariff Authority of Major Ports/Central Government which is a statutory requirement under Section 48 of MPT Act, 1963.
These private handling agents, in order to expand and maintain their monopoly, have been ensuring that most of the members of the other interest groups comprising the Board of Trustees of the Major Ports of India are those who owe allegiance to these private handling agents.
A Parliamentary Standing Committee has also directed the Government to look into complaints of reported pilferage at Haldia Port and act immediately to stop it. It has also directed the Shipping Ministry to file a status report to it.
In HDC, it is alleged, that private parties by paying a meager annual licence fee of Rs 5,400 were bagging big cargo deals and shore operations and pocketing crores of profit from the port while the Government exchequer suffered. Incidentally, Section 42 of the Major Port Trust Act says that services are to be performed either by the port itself or by its authorised persons described under Section 42(3) and 42(3A) of the Act. The allegations are that companies owned by the Trinamool MP are not authorised to handle the cargo under these Sections. And, the rates charged by Ripley & Co and its sister concerns from exporters and importers were not approved by the Tariff Authority. As per MPT Act, even an authorised person cannot charge any sum in excess of the ceiling for shore handling of cargo.
But the alleged irregularity has been going on for years and Ripley & Co along with its sister concern carried out handling of around 20 Million Tonnes of cargo at HDC. They are in operation here since 1977 and, interestingly, KoPT authority issued them a ‘Handling Agents licence’ only in 2006. It is alleged they worked illegally at the port from 1977 to 2006. And, the licence issued to them by KoPT on the basis of a Departmental Order in 2006, which is in contravention to the statutory provisions, according to a complaint by the Haldia Dock Officers’ Forum.
In fact, convinced with the pleading and evidence by the complainants, the Parliamentary Standing Committee made some very sharp and critical comments against KoPT. “The Committee fails to understand the motive behind handing over of a profitable entity to the private hands. The Committee also recalls the recent incidents that happened at the Haldia Dock Complex where the two terminals were abruptly closed by the private operator causing irreparable loss to the Government…The Committee is aware of the fact that the Haldia Port is losing crore of rupees, years after years, just because of some vested interest. The private parties are paying just an annual licence fee of only Rs. 5,400/-, and they are handling the cargos, shore operations and are taking crore of rupees as profit from the port, thereby, depriving the port authority of its financial benefits.”
A French company working in joint venture with an Indian firm under the name of ABG Haldia Bulk Terminals withdrew its operations at the Haldia docks in 2012 alleging KoPT officials connivance in diverting cargo to manual berths operated by Ripley & Co. HBT was in 2010 given contract to operate two mechanised berths in Haldia till 2020, but the company alleged that the cargo here was routinely diverted to the manual berths operated by Ripley & Co who were charging almost double. It is alleged that cargo was routinely diverted to manual berths even though HBT charged Rs 106 per metric ton of cargo while the manual berths charged at rate of Rs 300.
While exiting from HDC, HBT CEO Gurpreet Malhi on October 31, 2012 in a letter to the Board of Trustees of KoPT, accused that the KoPT management encouraged its agents and other bodies working in HDC from preventing HBT from handling cargo on its allotted berth and that its employees were assaulted, intimidated and threatened; and HBT was being prevented from meeting its contractual obligations. He blamed KoPT for colluding with “vested interest.” HBT had to face a lot of hostility from Ripley & Co when they had unknowingly stepped into their territory by bagging contracts on berth 2 and 8 at HDC for cargo handling.
A letter by AK Dutta, Administrative Manager of HDC September 18, 2012 named the workers of Ripley & Co. and AM Enterprise for creating trouble at the docks after HDC tried to implement a Kolkata High Court order to provide vessels on berth No 2 and 8, run by HBT, on priority basis.