The Central government has given a direct order to JNPT to buy the 23- storey Air India building in Mumbai. While AI is drowning in debt, JNPT has also been asked to run the Dighi port, which again is under heavy debt.
Mumbai: Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT,) is the largest port of the country. Its business runs in millions of crores of rupees and is seen as the hen that lays golden eggs. The ruling government plans to murder the hen. The Central government has given a direct order to JNPT to buy the 23- storey Air India building in Mumbai. While AI is drowning in debt, JNPT has also been asked to run the Dighi port, which again is under heavy debt.
India has taken a loan of about 3 thousand crores from Japan for various infrastructure projects launched by the government. They mortgaged JNPT for this. The result of these decisions would mean that JNPT would be drowned in debt and Gujarat ports will see ‘Acche Din.’
Navy officials only want to make PM Modi happy
JNPT’s wealth is being misused to buy the AI building and run the Dighi port of Maritime Board. It has been opposed by senior JNPT officials. The Ministry of Shipping for Development sees profit in making Modi happy at any cost.
The loan from Japan has no connection to the development of Maharashtra and has no connection to JNPT. Thousands of crores of JNPT’s capital will be spent for frivolous reasons. On the other hand, the one-way container traffic has decreased by 9.45 per cent in this financial year. JNPT will have to pay interest on the loan every will in such a scenario and its financial burden will only increase.
Govt eyeing JNPT wealth
JNPT’s capacity has increased due to the fourth port. It will be able to handle the movement of one million containers in the coming years. This will bring royalty deposits closer to Rs. 1800 crore. With this, the reserve fund of Rs. 4,500 is available to the port. JNPT gets Rs. 350 crores of the interest annually. The central government is a vulture that has found its prey.
Proposal changed when power exchanged hands
The proposal to purchase the 23-storey AI building at Rs. 800 crores was floated five years ago but was promptly cancelled. The proposal has been brought back as the ruling power has changed. Rs. 2600 crore is being spent for the bank and railways connectivity to run Dighi port.
Containers will be diverted to Gujarat
By implementing the Direct Port Delivery (DPD) scheme in JNPT, the govt has moved to end all state employment for sons of the land and local transport. There are allegations of govt diverting the containers to Gujarat.
Pros and Cons of DPD scheme
Direct transfer in ports will be enforced in JNPT under the DPD scheme. The delivery of every container and time of delivery will be noted. The person related to the container can take the delivery directly by visiting the port. Although this plan will reduce the cost by 15 per cent, it will render local agents, godown owners and workers jobless. It will make 15,000 people unemployed and affect 60,000 people.
1 billion crore for dry port in Jalna, Wardha, Sangli, Niphad District, 500 million For JNPT SEZ, 6 thousand crores for the Indore, Manmad railway route, 10 thousand million for Wadhwan port and 10 thousand million for other routes will be spent from JNPT’s vault
The author is the Resident Editor of Dabang Dunia news.
This article has been translated and edited for clarity.