Delhi allocates 274 acres to settle 27-year old Nehru Port project dispute

THE Indian government has endorsed the allocation of 274 acres of land owned by the Port of Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru) as compensation for "project affected persons," to avert work stoppages similar to the one that shut down the cargo terminals in March for four days resulting in US$30 million in business losses.

"This decision will settle, once and for all, the long-standing demand of project-affected persons pending for the past 27 years and give such persons, who had to give their land for the port project, a share in the benefits of the project," according to media reports which quoted a Shipping Ministry release. "The settlement of rehabilitation issue will enable smooth development and operation of the port."

The port administration was under intense pressure to resolve the impasse after local labour and political groups upset over delays in settlement recently threatened to relaunch their shutdown protest. According to industry estimates, the four-day stoppage in March cost the port authority over US$30 million in lost business.

According to officials, the dispute centres on about 2,890 acres of private land state authorities had acquired for constructing the port project, which began operations in 1989. "Reaching an amicable settlement has been a painstakingly slow process given the nature of the issue," a port official said.

More than 60 per cent of India's total containerised traffic is handled at Nhava Sheva Port. Volume in fiscal 2011-12, which ended March 31, totalled a record 4.32 million TEU.

In related news, container trailer operators serving Nhava Sheva recently threatened to suspend operations if stakeholders did not agree to a hike in haulage rates. "The planned stoppage is to emphasise huge losses incurred by trailer companies due to increased operating costs covering fuel, manpower, vehicle maintenance, spares etc," the trailer group said.