The Shipping Ministry proposed to set up a Major Ports Regulatory Authority (MPRA) to streamline the tariff fixation both at the major ports and the minor ports. The idea of the ministry was that the regulatory authority must confine itself to setting standards, leaving tariff setting to the market forces. It considered that one kind of ports having freedom to fix the up the tariff while the other kind of ports depending upon the regulatory authority was rather not correct, particularly when the private operators tend to shift their business to non-major ports from major ports as their tariff is not regulated . The proposed MPRA was to replace the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) and to regulate tariff rates al all the ports, the major and the minor ports, and to monitor the performance of all the ports in the country. But, an inter-ministerial task force after consulting the states did not favour the proposal and even suggested to the Ministry to drop the plan. The maritime states also did not welcome it; they said that such an authority would be unnecessary intervention. In fact, in 2011-12, the minor ports registered a faster traffic growth than the major ports. The Planning Commission also advised the ministry against the proposal. Facing very stiff opposition from all around, the Shipping Ministry decided to shelve the plan of setting up MPRA.It seems the die is cast.
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