It is said that the port, in its history of past 35 years, is imposing a royalty load on the cargo handlers at its facility for the first time; it is also pointed out by the KoPT officials that this would be the first major port in the country that would be charging royalty from cargo handlers. Obviously, the revenue of the Port should have gone down due to the ill-timed exit of ABG-LDA managed Haldia Bulk Terminals from Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) in the middle of the contract. Revenue loss would certainly prove fatal to any business and it must be attended to, at the earliest. According to the KoPT sources, “A committee was set up to decide on the royalty that may be charged from cargo handlers. The Committee decided upon a rate of INR 25 per tonne. This is primarily for shore handling at the Haldia Dock Complex”. It may be recalled here that KoPT has been criticized for not collecting any money from several cargo handlers operating at HDC from the very inception itself. An official said in this context of imposing such a royalty that they don’t “wish people to believe that we are doing a favour to somebody… The Board of Trustees of the KoPT has cleared this and we are awaiting a nod from the Centre”. This decision serves two purposes: it answers the criticism that the port has not collected so far any money from cargo handlers and, more importantly, it increases the revenue of the port, a much needed move.A good beginning is half the battle; and, perseverance completes it.
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