The Hindu : 'Dust clouds' still hang over Chennai Port

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 22, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

'Dust clouds' still hang over Chennai Port

By N. Ravi Kumar

CHENNAI Dec. 21. The Chennai port, which plans to become a clean facility and attract non-polluting cargoes, particularly foodgrains, continues to weather storms, months after transfer of the entire thermal coal cargo, meant for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, to the Ennore port.

Contrary to the expectations that the scenario would change after the shifting, of nearly 10 million tonnes of coal, the port grapples with dusty environs in industrial coal and ore handling operations.

Though the overall cleanliness level has improved, it still is not up to the mark for handling foodgrains. With limited closed space, the chances of dust settling on the agricultural produce loom large. This apart, households, offices and commercial establishments in the neighbourhood face pollution hazard.

However, the Chennai Port Trust, banking on clean cargoes to offset the drop in coal handling, is examining various options including imposing time restrictions on coal handling operations and reducing storage space.

Such measures will have to be initiated on mutual agreement without any loss of revenue to the port, say shipping industry sources. They point to Shipping Ministry instructions that the Chennai port handle imported coal until after common user berth facilities are created at Ennore.

But that is not an immediate prospect at Ennore, as the investment will be costlier for industrial coal users.

So the Chennai Port Trust plans to go ahead with devising other solutions including provision of cleaner and more closed space for storing foodgrains.

For the first time in many years, the port will handle edible cargo soon when a wheat consignment is shipped to the Far-East. It has spruced two berths and cleaned neighbouring sheds for storing foodgrains. ``We want to make available more closed storage space as the volume of wheat exports is expected to be around 25,000 tonnes every 20 days, while the present facilities could accommodate around 15,000 tonnes'', a port official told The Hindu.

Coming as a shot in the arm is an ``interim approval'' by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports to certain changes mooted by the port for handling agricultural produce.

These include revision of the stevedoring levy of 235 per cent on wheat, rice, maize, pulses and sugar, in bags or jumbo bags or palletised, to Rs. 7.50 a tonne and waiver of the C and F levy of Rs. 40 per tonne on produce directly shipped or taken delivery without being stacked on the shed.

The port has been allowed to exempt such produce from the 230 per cent `on-board supervisors levy'.

The approvals would be valid for three months, the TAMP said, even while noting the Chennai Port Trust's assurance that it would file a proposal for a comprehensive review of the existing levy structure, for all commodities, by January 2003.

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