The Competition Commission of India, according to informed sources, has initiated investigation into the allegation of a cartel being operated by a few stevedores in Paradip port.
Notices in this regard have been served under Section 36(2) and Section 41(2) of the Competition Act, 2002 to about a dozen out of an estimated 34 registered stevedores in the port.
When contacted, a spokesman for Paradip Port Trust acknowledged having received communication from the Commission saying, “we have replied to all the queries raised by the Commission”.
A section of importers and exporters routing their consignments through Paradip port is believed to have drawn the attention of the Commission to the harassment they face due to the monopoly stranglehold of the cartel members on the stevedoring operations of the port. It is almost impossible to bypass these members who charge rates at will. As a result, the Odisha’s only major port is set to become uncompetitive, at least rate-wise, vis-a-vis the neighbouring Visakhapatnam port in Andhra Pradesh in respect of many commodities.
The crux of the problem lies in the operation of the labour pool under CFH (Clearing, Forwarding Handling) scheme, the only one of its kind in the country. Any stevedoring firm undertaking operation in Paradip port has to draw labour from the pool whose management rests with a body headed by the port’s traffic manager with six representatives, three each from the cartel and the labour unions.
The traffic manager, it is complained, functions like a rubber stamp for all practical purposes. If the stevedoring firm concerned is not a member of the cartel, it will be almost impossible for it to draw labour from the pool. The importer/exporter concerned therefore will have no other option but to fall back upon the cartel members to get things done.
The mineral-rich Odisha holds out the promise of an industrial boom and with it the growth prospects of Paradip port. However, all this, many prospective investors in the state feel, will remain a distant dream unless the cartel is broken.
The Competition Commission therefore has been urged to dismantle the present system and install in its place a system guaranteeing level-playing field for all stevedoring firms. The importers and exporters should be free to choose any stevedore they like. It should be possible to ensure fair practices and therefore arrive at fair rates only in a competitive environment, certainly not in the present situation, it has been emphasised.
Meanwhile, the Shipping Ministry too, it is learnt, is seized of the matter and mulling appropriate action.