Changes made to draft guidelines for major ports

Some key changes were made in the draft guidelines on free pricing for services in major ports following the change of secretary in the union shipping ministry. Recently, Pradeep Kumar Sinha, who was the secretary of the shipping ministry, moved to the power ministry and the position was filled by Vishwapati Trivedi. Following this, some changes were made in the draft. These include removing a reference to the Competition Commission of India for opinion if port users are aggrieved by the market-linked tariff proposed to be charged by the terminal operator. Based on the opinion given by the Competition Commission, the market rates could either be confirmed or revised. Sinha approved this provision in the final draft of the guidelines and submitted to shipping minister GK Vasan for consent. Another change in the draft is authorising the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) to monitor performance standards and adherence by operators.