PARLIAMENT OF INDIA RAJYA SABHA 91
DEPARTMENT RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE
NINETY FIRST REPORT ON EXPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AT AIRPORTS, PORTS, ICDs AND LCSs ETC. AND TOWNS OF EXPORT EXCELLENCE IN THE COUNTRY
(PRESENTED TO HON’BLE CHAIRMAN, RAJYA SABHA ON 13TH MAY, 2009) (FORWARDED TO HON’BLE SPEAKER, LOK SABHA ON 13TH MAY, 2009)
(LAID IN THE RAJYA SABHA ON 8TH JUNE, 2009) (LAID IN THE LOK SABHA ON 8TH JUNE, 2009)
RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI JUNE, 2009/JYAISTHA, 1931 (SAKA) Website : http://rajyasabha.nic.in E-mail : [email protected] PARLIAMENT OF INDIA RAJYA SABHA
DEPARTMENT RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE
NINETY FIRST REPORT ON EXPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AT AIRPORTS, PORTS, ICDs AND LCSs ETC. AND TOWNS OF EXPORT EXCELLENCE IN THE COUNTRY
(PRESENTED TO HON’BLE CHAIRMAN, RAJYA SABHA ON 13TH MAY, 2009) (FORWARDED TO HON’BLE SPEAKER, LOK SABHA ON 13TH MAY, 2009)
(LAID IN THE RAJYA SABHA ON 8TH JUNE, 2009) (LAID IN THE LOK SABHA ON 8TH JUNE, 2009)
RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI
JUNE, 2009/JYAISTHA, 1931 (SAKA)
CONTENTS
PAGES
1. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE ...... (i)-(vi)
(i) Composition of the Committee on Commerce...... (i)-(iv)
(ii) Composition of the Sub-Committee–II ...... (v)-(vi)
2. PREFACE ...... (vii)
3. REPORT ...... 1—40
CHAPTER-I Introduction...... 1—12
CHAPTER-II Written and Oral Submissions: Central Ministries/Departments/Board...... 13—16
CHAPTER-III Study Visits ...... 17—33
CHAPTER-IV Observations and Recommendations ...... 34—40
4. OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS — AT A GLANCE ...... 41—43
5. ANNEXURES ...... 45—58 I – List of ICDs/CFSs approved by the Inter Ministerial Committee ...... 47—56
II – CONCOR Container Terminals ...... 57—58
6. MINUTES ...... 59—76
DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE Composition of the Committee I As Constituted on 5th August, 2006 1. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Jai Parkash Aggarwal 4. Shri K. Keshava Rao 5. Shri Arun Jaitley 6. Shri Banwari Lal Kanchhal %7. Shri Mohammed Amin 8. Shri Rajkumar Dhoot 9. Shri Dinesh Trivedi 10. Shri Robert Kharshiing LOK SABHA 11. Shri Omar Abdullah 12. Shri C.K. Chandrappan 13. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda 14. Shri Radhey Shyam Kori 15. Shri N.N. Krishnadas 16. Shri Jivabhai A. Patel 17. Shri Virchandra Paswan 18. Shri Shishupal N. Patle 19. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 20. Shri Gingee N. Ramachandran 21. Shri Kashiram Rana 22. Shri Haribhau Rathod 23. Shri S.P.Y Reddy 24. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 25. Shri Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki 26. Shri Sarvananda Sonowal #27. Shri Manjunath Kunnur $28. Shri Amitava Nandy &29. Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy 30. Shri Sippipari Ravichandran @31. Shri Balashowry Vallabhaneni % Nominated w.e.f. 21st June, 2007. # Nominated w.e.f. 31st August, 2006. $ Nominated w.e.f. 31st August, 2006. & Nominated w.e.f. 8th September, 2006. @ Nominated w.e.f. 11th December, 2006.
(i) II As Constituted on 5th August, 2007
1. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Jai Parkash Aggarwal 4. Dr. K. Keshava Rao 5. Shri Arun Jaitley 6. Shri Banwari Lal Kanchhal 7. Shri Mohammed Amin 8. Shri Parimal Nathwani 9. Shri Y.P. Trivedi 10. Vacant LOK SABHA 11. Shri Omar Abdullah 12. Shri C.K. Chandrappan 13. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda 14. Shri Radhey Shyam Kori 15. Shri N.N. Krishnadas 16. Shri Manjunath Kunnur 17. Shri Jivabhai A. Patel 18. Shri Virchandra Paswan 19. Shri Shishupal N. Patle 20. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 21. Shri Gingee N. Ramachandran 22. Shri Kashiram Rana 23. Shri Haribhau Rathod 24. Shri Sippiparai Ravichandran 25. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy 26. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 27. Shri Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki 28. Shri Sarvananda Sonowal 29. Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy 30. Shri Balashowry Vallabhaneni #31. Shri Amitava Nandy
# Nominated w.e.f. 24th June, 2008.
(ii) III As Constituted on 5th August, 2008
1. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA @2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Jai Parkash Aggarwal 4. Dr. K. Keshava Rao 5. Shri Arun Jaitley $6. Shri Banwari Lal Kanchhal 7. Shri Mohammed Amin 8. Shri Parimal Nathwani 9. Shri Y.P. Trivedi #10. Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta LOK SABHA %11. Shri Omar Abdullah 12. Shri C.K. Chandrappan 13. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda 14. Shri Radhey Shyam Kori 15. Shri N.N. Krishnadas &16. Shri Manjunath Kunnur 17. Shri Jivabhai A. Patel 18. Shri Virchandra Paswan 19. Shri Shishupal N. Patle 20. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 21. Shri Gingee N. Ramachandran 22. Shri Kashiram Rana £23. Shri Haribhau Rathod 24. Shri Sippiparai Ravichandran 25. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy 26. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 27. Shri Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki 28. Shri Sarvananda Sonowal 29. Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy 30. Shri Balashowry Vallabhaneni 31. Shri Amitava Nandy
@ Retired from the Membership of Rajya Sabha w.e.f. 21st April, 2009. $ Resigned from the Membership of Rajya Sabha w.e.f. 23rd April, 2009. # Nominated on 27th January, 2009. % Resigned from the Membership of Rajya Sabha w.e.f. 6th January, 2009. & Resigned from the Membership of Rajya Sabha w.e.f. 20th October, 2008. £ Resigned from the Membership of Rajya Sabha w.e.f. 5th January, 2009.
(iii) (iv)
SECRETARIAT Shri P. Gopalakrishnan, AS & FA Shri Surinder Kumar Watts, Director Shri T.N. Pandey, Deputy Director Shrimati Indira Chaturvedi Vaidya, Committee Officer COMPOSITION OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE-II I (As constituted on 5th October, 2007)
1. Shri Kashiram Rana — Convenor RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Banwari Lal Kanchhal 4. Shri Rajkumar Dhoot 5. Shri Robert Kharshiing LOK SABHA 6. Shri Omar Abdullah 7. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda 8. Shri Radhey Shyam Kori 9. Shri N.N. Krishnadas 10. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 11. Shri Haribhau Rathod 12. Shri Sippiparai Ravichandran 13. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy 14. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 15. Shri Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki
(v) II
As constituted on 7th August, 2008
1. Shri Kashiram Rana — Convenor RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Banwari Lal Kanchhal 4. Shri Y. P. Trivedi 5. Shri Parimal Nathwani LOK SABHA 6. Shri Omar Abdullah 7. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda 8. Shri Radhey Shyam Kori 9. Shri N.N. Krishnadas 10. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 11. Shri Haribhau Rathod 12. Shri Sippiparai Ravichandran 13. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy 14. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 15. Shri Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki
(vi) PREFACE
I, the Chairman of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, having been authorised by the Committee, present this Ninety First Report of the Committee on the Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, ICDs, LCSs etc. and Towns of Export Excellence.
2. The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce took up for an in- depth study the subject of Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, ICDs, LCSs etc. and Towns of Export Excellence on 18th April, 2007. The Committee held discussions with the Secretary, Department of Commerce. It also heard the views of the representatives of the various Ministries/ Departments. The Committee held a total number of five sittings. The Subject was referred to Sub- Committee-II of the Committee on Commerce on 12th December, 2007. The Sub-Committee-II held a total number of four sittings. the Sub-Committee II of the Committee visited the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala from 18th February to 22nd February, 2008; Assam, Manipur, Tripura and West Bengal from 24th to 31st May, 2008; Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh from 4th to 9th September, 2008; Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat from 27th November to 1st December, 2008 and Delhi on 3rd February, 2009 for on-the-spot visits on the subject.
3. The Committee considered and adopted this report at its sitting held on 4th May, 2009.
DR. MURLI MANOHAR JOSHI NEW DELHI; Chairman, May 4, 2009 Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce.
(vii)
1
REPORT
CHAPTER-I
Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Land Customs Stations (LCSs)
Export Infrastructure at Airports 1.1 Air transport is the preferred mode of transport, especially for long distance travel, business travel, accessing difficult terrains, and for transporting high value and perishable commodities, mainly on account of the speed of travel and saving of time. Presently, about 40% of the world’s cargo business, in terms of value, moves by air. Brief description of the airports that have the export infrastructure is as under:—
Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Delhi 1.2 Cargo Terminal was established by Airports Authority of India (AAI) in 1986. The Terminal has been handed over to M/s Delhi International Airport Private Ltd. (DIAL), since May, 2006, for operation and management. There are three Export Cargo Sheds, covering a total area of 34,200 sq. mtrs. The annual handling capacity is 5,00,000 MT, with average dwell time of 53 hrs. Area of 1100 sq mtrs of space is available for special cargo handling facilities and six Cargo bays for parking of wide bodied cargo freighters (B 747), besides computerized Cargo Handling System. In addition, there is also two tier Cargo Security System and Fire Safety arrangement.
Chhatrapati Shivaji International (CSI) Airport, Mumbai 1.3 Cargo Terminal was established by AAI in 1977. The terminal has been handed over to M/s Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) since May, 2006 for operation and management. MIAL and Air India are the two custodians handling export cargo at Mumbai airport. The total volume of annual import/export cargo currently handled is approximately 5,00,000 MTs. As per the Master Plan, the cargo infrastructure is being upgraded in order to handle up to 1 million MT of cargo when the infrastructure is fully developed.
Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) 1.4 International Cargo Operation was started in October, 1999. CIAL took over the cargo operation as custodian in December, 2000. Cargo at present is operated from an area of 6,000 sq. mts. It is well equipped to handle all types of export and import cargo. The ongoing project envisages construction of a state of art Centre for Perishable Cargo at a cost of Rs. 25 crore. CIAL is in the process of creating a full-fledged Cargo Village, capable of handling Air freight, Sea freight, Rail freight and Road freight – Multi Model Transport. As an immediate step, CIAL proposes to provide immediately various additional facilities like Exclusive Cargo Freighter Parking Bay; Equipments for Freighter handling; Introduction of e-Trade and Revamping and Remodeling existing ACC, exclusively for General Cargo Operations; and to provide two x-ray screening machines in the general Cargo Export Bay, and also additionally acquire a four dimensional penetrating X-ray machine to screen fully stuffed Unit Load Devices (ULDs).
Bangaluru International Airport Limited 1.5 The export infrastructure at the new airport consists of two separate cargo terminal facilities, built and operated by:— 2
Air India SATS 1.6 The facility will have a two-floor warehouse, with a gross floor area of 18,000 sq mtrs, and a design capacity to handle more than 2,00,000 tonnes of cargo. One floor of the facility is dedicated to process export and import of international cargo, while the other is for domestic purposes. The facility will be able to handle all types of cargo, general cargo, perishable cargo, courier, mail and specialized cargo (dangerous goods, live stock and human remains). It will be equipped with the latest Material Handling System (MHS) for cargo handling and tracking within the warehouse. Some of the key features of the facility are elevated Transfer Vehicle within two level storage, Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) for loose cargo, lowerable workstations for easy build-up/breakdown of Unit Load Devices (ULDs) and dock levelers, to cater to trucks of different heights.
Menzies Aviation Bobba (Bangaluru) Cargo Handling Facility 1.7 This facility, built and operated by Menzies Aviation and Bobba Group, has an initial capacity of 50,000 MTs. The warehouse planned on 7.3 acres, includes both the international and the domestic operations, and has a vertical expansion growth possibility. The office complex on the ground floor has provisions for a business centre, ATM, facility counter and waiting lounge. The first floor houses customs offices, the second custodian offices and airlines, and the third floor has the offices of the Trade partners. The facilities include a Pallet Handling System for storage of built up pallets/ containers., X-rays, cold storage, a secured area to load and unload with a canopy, a trans-shipment room, an advance handling IT system and an unaccompanied baggage room.
Hyderabad International Airport Limited 1.8 A world class cargo terminal of 1,00,000 tonnes per annum capacity is being developed in the first phase. A Greenfield airport is being developed in Shamshabad, near Hyderabad on BOOT (Build- operate-owned and transfer) basis by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, with Public Private Participation (PPP) at an approximate cost Rs. 2,478 crore. AAI and Government of Andhra Pradesh together hold 26% equity, with AAI’s equity being capped at Rs. 50 crore. The balance 74% being held by the strategic partners, a consortium consisting of M/s GMR Enterprises and Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhard (MAHB). 1.9 Apart from these airports, following airports are under the Airport Authority of India (AAI):—
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport, Kolkata 1.10 Cargo Terminal was established by the AAI in 1975The expansion of the cargo terminal is under process.
Chennai Airport 1.11 Cargo Terminal was established by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in 1978. The expansion of the cargo terminal is under process.
Nagpur Airport 1.12 Cargo terminal was commissioned in 1997. Under a joint venture between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), the Nagpur Airport is scheduled to be developed as a multi-modal international passenger and cargo hub.
Coimbatore Airport 1.13 Cargo Terminal was commissioned in 2001. A walk-in cold storage facility is available for perishable cargo. There was proposal for augmentation of the storage space of export/import cargo. 3
Lucknow Airport 1.14 An interim Air Cargo Terminal was established by the AAI in June, 2000. Proposal for new Cargo Terminal is under consideration. Cold storage facility was available for perishable cargo.
Guwahati Airport 1.15 An interim Cargo Terminal was established by the AAI in September, 1999. The airport is undergoing renovations to enable it to handle increased air traffic. The upgrade is due to be completed by the end of 2009. The overhaul will include cosmetic and operational changes.
Amritsar Airport 1.16 The AAI has constructed an Air Cargo Complex, which was outsourced through open tender, to M/s JAC Air Pvt. Ltd, for operation and management, in 2007, as per the Business Plan of the AAI. Allotment of land was made to M/s Council for Value Added Horticulture in Punjab (CVAHP) for establishment of Centre for Perishable Cargo. The facility was under operation.
Goa Airport 1.17 Site had been allotted for creation of walk-in cold storage facility to M/s CONCOR. The Air Cargo Complex is being operated by M/s Central Warehousing Corporation Ltd. (CWC) near the harbour, away from the Goa Airport.
Indore Airport 1.18 An interim cargo facility has been constructed by the AAI. The Air Cargo Complex (ACC) has been leased to M/s GSEC Ltd., for operation and management, as per the Business Plan of the AAI.
Patna Airport 1.19 The AAI has approved formation of a Joint Venture Company with M/s Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA), for establishment of Air Cargo Complex and cold storage facility.
Existing Bangaluru Airport 1.20 AAI has leased land to M/s Mysore Sales International Ltd. to operate the Air Cargo Complex. Cold storage facility for perishable cargo is available.
Hyderabad Airport 1.21 The AAI has leased land to M/s Andhra Pradesh State Trading Corporation Ltd., (APSTC) for establishment of Air Cargo Complex. The AAI has also leased through open tender cold storage facility for perishable cargo to M/s APSTC.
Ahmedabad Airport 1.22 The AAI has leased land to M/s GSEC Ltd., for their Air Cargo Complex. The AAI has leased land to M/s Gujarat Agro Industries Corp Ltd., for establishment of cold storage facility of perishable cargo.
Jaipur Airport 1.23 The AAI has leased land to M/s Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation Ltd., for establishment 4 of Air Cargo Complex. The AAI has leased land to M/s Rajasthan State Agricultural Marketing Board, for establishment of cold room facility for handing perishable cargo.
Varanasi Airport 1.24 The AAI has leased land to M/s UP State Export Corporation Ltd. for their Air Cargo Complex.
Pune Airport 1.25 The AAI has leased land to M/s Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board for establishment of cold storage facility for perishable cargo.
Calicut Airport 1.26 The air cargo complex, adjacent to the Calicut Airport, is operated and managed by Kerala State Industries Enterprise Ltd. The AAI has also handed over its own facility to M/s KSIE on revenue sharing basis, for export cargo, as per Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Visakhapatnam Airport 1.27 The Air Cargo Complex is currently being located in the city and is being operated by M/s APSTC. M/s APSTC has also been appointed Customs custodian for this airport, with effect from May, 2005.
Trivandrum Airport 1.28 The Air Cargo Complex is being operated and managed by M/s Kerala State Industries Enterprises Limited.
Srinagar Airport 1.29 Export cargo being handled by M/s Indian Airlines, through their own Customs-bonded warehouse at the airport.
Export Infrastructure at Ports 1.30 Ports constitute inter – modal interface between maritime and road and rail transport. India has a coast line of around 7,517 Kms, with 12 major ports and 187 notified non – major (minor/ intermediate) ports along the coast line and sea islands. Almost 95% by volume and 70% by value of India’s global merchandise trade is carried through the sea route. In 2006-07, the 12 major ports handled about 73% of the maritime cargo of the country. The balance 27% was handled by the non major ports. Overseas cargo accounts for about 77% of the total cargo handled at Indian ports. Of the 12 major ports, 11 are administered by the respective Port Trusts and Ennore Port, the 12th major port, which started functioning in February, 2001, is corporatised. 1.31 Brief description of the major ports that have the export infrastructure is as under:—
1. Kolkata Port, Kolkata Kolkata Port is the oldest (established in 1870) and the only riverine major port of India. The Port has vast hinterland comprising the entire Eastern India and two landlocked neighboring countries- Nepal and Bhutan. Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) has twin dock systems viz. Kolkata Dock System (KDS) on the eastern bank of river Hooghly and Haldia Dock Complex (HOC), commissioned in 1971, on the western bank of the river Hooghly. Kolkata Port, which consists of Kolkata Dock System and 5
Haldia Dock System, is directly connected to Kolkata Customs. All Customs related messages are electronically communicated between Kolkata Port and Kolkata Customs. Exporter/importers and agents communicate with Customs, which are electronically forwarded to Kolkata Port.
Kolkata Dock System There is a separate stack yard for export containers, with an approximate holding capacity to the level of 1,500 TEUs per day. Export cargo, including containers, is allowed entry in the port 24x365. Exclusive equipment support is provided for unloading, to ensure the least detention of export cargo/container. For dry bulk commodities like iron ore, exclusive rake unloading support at KP Dock II has been provided with collateral stacking-cum-Ioading onto vessel/barge, as the case may be, which is effected ensuring the least Twin Rivers Terminal (TRT), both in railway leg as also in the ship to shore transfer leg. This dock system provides export aggregation/dispersal by all the three modes i.e. rail, road and Inland Water Transport (IWT). The equipment available at the Dock System includes three Mobile Harbour Cranes; Four Rubber-Tyred Gantry Cranes; one 1200T Cantilever Crane; 10 Reach stackers; 14 Mobile Cranes; 11 Wharf Cranes; 16 Fork-Lift Trucks; two Medium duty Fork- Lift Trucks; one Top Lift Truck; 12 Tractors and 42 Trailers and 36 Hippo Tractors and 36 Trailers.
Haldia Dock System The Dock System has various dedicated mechanized berths for handling export of thermal coal and iron ore at the Haldia Dock Complex. The Dock Complex also has the facilities for export of dry bulk, break bulk and containerized cargo. Besides this, there is an open storage area of around 8,92,840 sq mtrs and covered shed storage area of 25,040 sq mtrs. Another feature is the free time allowed for aggregation of export cargo prior to shipment. In terms of equipment, there are two Rail- Mounted Quay Cranes; 12 Wharf Cranes; 4 Rubber-Tyred Gantry Cranes; one Transtainer Crane; one Top Lift Truck; 1 Fork-Lift Truck; 10 Payloaders; four Tractor-Trailer combination; Floating Craft; 17 Tugs; 11 Survey Vessels/Launch; one Despatch Vessel; five Pilot I Mooring Launch; two Water Barges; four Survey Launch; two Tug Boats and two Anti Pollution Vessels.
2. Paradip Port, Paradip, Orissa Paradip Port is the only major sea port in Orissa. The Port was opened to traffic on 12th March, 1966 and declared as Major Port on 18th April, 1966. The recent initiatives and achievements include (i) Deepening of channel to handle 1,25,000 DWT (Dead Weight Tonnes) vessels; (ii) Construction of stack-yard has been completed; and (iii) Work of Single Buoy Mooring (SBM).
3. Visakhapatnam Port, Visakhapatnam The Port of Visakhapatnam, a natural harbour, was opened to commercial shipping on 7th October, 1933. Visakhapatnam Port is the only Indian Port to possess three International accreditation viz., ISO 14001; 2004 (EMS)/OHSAS 18001 and ISO 9001 :2000 (QMS). M/s Visakha Container Terminal has been notified by the Customs as International Transhipment Terminal. The First dedicated train connecting Visakhapatnam Container Terminal with the ICD at Loni, close to Delhi, was flagged off on 9th August, 2007. T-8 Transit Sheds of 4,350 Sq. Meters were commissioned on 21st February, 2007; one loco of 3100 HP was commissioned on 21st February, 2007. The work on Phase I, pertaining to deepening and widening the Inner harbour entrance channel and Turning circle at inner harbour, to facilitate 10.7 mtrs draft vessels, has been completed.
4. Chennai Port Trust, Chennai Chennai Port is an all-weather artificial harbour, with one Outer Harbour and an Inner Harbour, 6 with a Wet Dock and a Boat Basin, with round the clock navigation facilities. The Port, established in 1875, is located in the Bay of Bengal. The recent initiatives and achievements include Development of Second Container Terminal on BOT basis, Modernization of Chennai Port, Development of additional open storage yard, Ennore - Manali Expressway.
5. Tuticorin Port, Tuticorin The Port of Tuticorin, situated on the east coast in the State of Tamil Nadu, was declared a major port in July, 1974. It has two operational wings, viz. Zone ‘A’ comprising the new major port, and Zone ‘B’ representing the old anchorage port, which were merged together on 1st April, 1979 when Tuticorin Port Trust was constituted. The recent initiatives and achievements include construction of berth no. 9; dredging the basin and channel, to cater 12.80m draught vessels; construction of North Cargo Berth-1; and replacement of wharf cranes in Berth Nos. 1 and 2.
6. Cochin Port, Cochin The modern Port of Cochin, which was formally opened for vessels by 1930-31, was given the status of a Major Port in 1936. It has various infrastructural facilities for facilitating Vessel handling and Cargo handling. This includes Berths and other infrastructure for handling various types of vessels like Bulk (both dry and liquid) vessels, Break Bulk vessels, Container vessels, Tankers and Cruise vessels as well as equipment with storage facilities for handling various types of cargo. The port is well connected by road and rail to various trade centers in the country. The recent initiatives and achievements include International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) Project at Vallarpadam, completion of capital dredging for channel for Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal (RGCT), completion of work for crude oil Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) at Kochi Refineries Ltd. The important schemes taken up include rail connectivity to ICTT, Special Economic Zone, reclamation and development of land at South end of Willingdon Island, installation of 110 KV Sub station, replacement of two Nos. of RTG’s and two Tugs and replacement of Mattancherry Wharf - Phase I etc.
7. New Mangalore Port The Mangalore Harbour Project was started in 1962. The Port was declared as Major Port on 4th May 1974 and was formally inaugurated on 11th January 1975. It has a modern all weather artificial lagoon situated at Panambur, Mangalore in Karnataka State on the West Coast of India. In terms of development, proposals for development of a Coal Jetty on captive basis by Nagarjuna Power Corporation Ltd. on BOT basis and mechanized iron ore handling facility at Berth NO.14 on BOT basis are under consideration. Besides this, in principle approval has been accorded for construction of POL Berth in the Oil Dock Arm to cater to the additional demand of MRPL expansion programme. M/s CES, appointed for the work of preparation of Detailed Feasibility Report, have submitted the final report. The proposal has been approved by the Port Trust Board. Application has been filed for obtaining environmental clearance. Appointment of Consultants for Detailed Engineering is under process. Ministry’s approval for funding the Jetty from IR is awaited. In principle approval has been granted to NMPT for participation in the SPV formed for Mangalore SEZ. Further action is in progress.
8. Mormugao Port, Goa Mormugao Port is one of the century old ports, with modern infrastructural facilities on the west coast of India and one of the finest natural harbours in the world. The Port was declared a major port on 2nd December, 1963. The recent initiatives and achievements include construction of additional three nos. of Mooring Dolphins; replacement of existing three nos. of Rail Mounted Stackers; replacement of various Stackers in Phases; upgradation of MOHP through Project Management Consultancy; and development of new berth No.7. 7
9. Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai JNPT, since its inception on May 26, 1989, is the biggest container handling Port in India, handling around 60% of the country’s containerized cargo, crossing the historic landmark of four million TEUs in container throughput. JNP is ranked 24th among the top 100 Container Ports in the world. Having set for itself a long term goal of achieving 10 million TEUs by the year 2014 -15, JNP has thrown open an array of worthwhile opportunities for Shipping Lines and Shippers, to ferry their cargo to various sectors across the globe. Supported by top of the order, world class infrastructure, with impeccable technological standards, facilities at the JNP comprise a full fledged Customs House, above 30 Container Freight Stations and a large number of ICDs across the country. Excellent hinterland connectivity, both by rail, and road as well as proximity to Airports, Hotels, etc., gives the Port an extra edge to address the shippers needs, efficiently and promptly. With its strong commitment to provide seamless service to its customers as India’s prime facilitator of international trade, JNP strives to be the undisputed leader in the South Asian region in years to come.
10. Mumbai Port, Mumbai Mumbai Port is a natural deep water port, the second oldest major port of India after Kolkata. Originally, a general cargo port, Mumbai Port today is a multi-purpose port, handling all types of cargo-liquid bulk, dry bulk, break bulk and containers. Traditionally, the Port provides all services/ facilities in-house with its skilled and experienced workforce. The recent initiatives and achievements include construction of off-shore container, redevelopment of Harbour Wall berths, terminal berths, construction of second berth for handling liquid chemical, etc., improvement of rail connectivity, construction of a new Cruise Terminal and 5th Oil berth at Jawahar Dweep.
11. Kandla Port, Kuchchh, Gujarat Kandla Port, declared as a Major Port on 8th April, 1955, is the largest sea port of Gujarat situated in the Kachchh District. This is the gateway port for States like Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and the rich Industrial belt of the West and the North India. This is an all weather port, mainly handling agricultural cargo and other bulk liquid cargo. Container handling facility was introduced in the port in October, 1981. The total Customs Bonded Area at the Port is 213 hectares. There are 10 multi - purpose dry cargo berths to handle dry and liquid cargos, with a maximum draft of 11.5 mtrs., and it can accommodate a maximum vessel size of 55,000 Dead Weight Tonnes (DWT).
12. Ennore Port Limited, Ennore, Chennai Ennore Port Limited (EPL), the twelfth Major Port, is the first Corporate Major Port of India. The Ennore Port Limited was registered under the Companies Act, 1956 on 11th October 1999. The Port commenced commercial operations on 22nd June, 2001.
Inland Water Transport 1.32 Inland waterways comprising rivers, lakes, canals, creeks, backwaters etc extend to about 14500 km in the country. However, potential of this important mode of transport has not been fully exploit so far. In several countries of the world where development of this mode was given required importance and attention, Inland Water Transport (IWT) has substantial share in inland transport network. 1.33 Government of India has declared three waterways as National Waterways. These are: (i) Allahabad-Haldia stretch (1620 km) of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system (NW-1) (II) Sadiya-Dhubri stretch (891 kms) of Brahmaputra River (NW-2) and (iii) Kottapuram-Kollam stretch of 8 the West Coast Canal along with Champakara and Udyogmandal Canals (205 km) (NW-3). IWAI undertakes development and maintenance of IWT related infrastructure facilities on these waterways. 1.34 For development and regulation of inland waterways of the country, there is a statutory organization namely Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). 1.35 The IWAI was set up on 27th October, 1986 vide Inland Waterways Authority of India Act, 1985 for regulation and development of inland waterways for the purposes of shipping and navigation.
Road Connectivity 1.36 The National Highways Development Project (NHDP), under its phased programme, has taken various initiatives for improvement and development of National Highways. The NHDP inter-alia includes Port Connectivity Project comprising a length of 380 km for improvement of roads connecting 12 major ports in the country. Besides this NHDP programmes also include provision of improved road to Nathula (the trade route with China) and improvement of road connectivity to border areas, Land Customs Stations and neighbouring countries. 1.37 The Government, under its various phased programmes, sanctioned an amount of Rs.1896 crore on ten major projects in the country for port connectivity. These phased programmes also include one project for four-lane connectivity to the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Cochin at a cost of Rs.557 crore. Similarly, another project on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis, at a cost of Rs.1655 crore, was sanctioned for construction of an elevated road for Chennai Port to Maduravoil. Most of the major ports in the country were likely to be connected by four-lane exclusively connectivity projects. Among these projects, the Paradip Port project was likely to be completed in March, 2009, at a cost of Rs.427.4 crore. The Visakhapatnam project in Andhra Pradesh and the Chennai-Ennore Port Connectivity project in Tamil Nadu had been completed. The connectivity projects, at the remaining ports, were likely to be completed by end of the year 2010. 1.38 In order to achieve the targets at the earliest, the Government, under a new contract, awarded new timeline of September, 2010. This new contract carried a new provision of bonus to the contractor who completed the project earlier than the scheduled date of completion of a particular project. Use of information technology was made for designing the roads, bridges, tunnels, etc. The various projects sanctioned by the Government, in this regard, were also being monitored using the information technology system. Export Infrastructure at Inland Container Depots (ICDs)/Container Freight Stations (CFSs)/ Land Customs Stations (LCSs) etc. 1.39 With the development of multi modal transport system, to provide adequate facilities to importers/exporters, a need was felt to develop Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Container Freight Stations (CFSs). These were to essentially function like a dry port. These ICDs/CFSs were to function as common user facilities, offering all the services for Customs clearance like any other port. ICD/CFS may be defined as:— “A common user facility with public authority status equipped with fixed installations and offering services for handling and temporary storage of import/export laden and empty containers carried under customs transit by any applicable mode of transport placed under Customs control. All the activities related to clearance of goods for home use, warehousing, temporary admissions, re-export, temporary storage for onward transit and outright export, transhipment, take place from such stations.” 1.40 An Inland Container Depot (lCD) is a place where containers are aggregated for onward movement to or from the ports whereas Container Freight Station (CFS) is a place where containers 9 are stuffed, unstuffed, and aggregation/segregation of cargo take place. ICDs are normally located outside the port towns, whereas no site restrictions apply to CFS. An ICD may have a CFS attached to it. CFS is treated as an extension of a port/ICD/air cargo complex. The benefits as envisaged from an ICD/CFS are as follows:— (i) Concentration points for long distance cargoes and its unitization (ii) Service as a transit facility (iii) Customs clearance facility available near the centres of production and consumption (iv) Reduced level of demurrage and pilferage (v) No Customs required at gateway ports (vi) Issuance of through bill of lading by shipping lines, thereby resuming full liability of shipments (vii) Reduced overall level of empty container movement (viii) Competitive transport cost (ix) Reduced inventory cost (x) Increased trade flows 1.41 To monitor the growth of ICDs/CFSs, a regulatory Authority in the form of an Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) under the chairmanship of the Additional Secretary (Infrastructure), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has been set up. It comprises representatives from the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Surface Transport, Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Committee considers the proposals submitted by Public Sector as well as Private Sector entrepreneurs for setting up of new ICDs/CFSs at different centres in the country and monitors their progress. There were about 30 ICDs/CFSs prior to constitution of the IMC. After its constitution in the year 1992, the IMC has approved 194 ICDs/CFSs (Annexure - I) 1.42 The proposal for setting up of ICDs/CFSs are examined by the IMC on the basis of following guidelines— (a) Feasibility report: A survey/feasibility study must precede the setting up of ICDs/CFSs and copy of the report should invariably accompany the application for setting up such a facility. The facility has to be economically viable for the management and attractive to the users, to the railways for full train movements, and to other transport operators, shipping lines, freight forwarders, etc. In the background of growing international trade, the infrastructure facilities have to precede the actual generation of demand. This is particularly important, as such facilities have a long gestation period for being fully operationalised. For approval of an ICDs/CFS, following minimum level of traffic volume is prescribed: For a ICD 6,000 TEUs (Twenty foot equivalent units) per year (Two way) For a CFS 1,000 TEUs per year (Two way) (b) Land requirement: For the ICDs/CFSs proposed to be set up outside the limits of major cities, a minimum of three acres of land is required and for such facilities inside the city limits/port area, a minimum area of 1 acre (about 4,500 sq meters) is required. The minimum area requirement for a CFS would be one hectare (2.5 acres) and for an ICD, it would be four hectares (10 acres). However, a proposal could also be considered having less area, on consideration of technological upgradation and other peculiar features, justifying such a deviation. 10
(c) Design and layout of ICD/CFS: The design and layout should be the most modern and state- of the-art, equipped with mechanical/electrical facilities of international standards. The layout should allow smooth flow of containers, cargo and vehicles through the ICD/CFS, and it should take into account initial volume of business, estimated volume in 10 years and the type of facilities the exporters would require. The design should broadly encompass features like (rail) siding, container yard, gate house and security features, boundary wall (fencing), roads, pavements, office building and public amenities. The track length and number of tracks should be adequate to handle rakes and for stabling trains where relevant. (d) Equipping the ICD/CFS: An ICD/CFS should plan for the most modern handling equipment for loading, unloading of containers from rail flats, chassis, their stacking, movement, cargo handling, stuffing/de-stuffing, etc. (e) Rail head ICDs: The parties, desirous of setting up a rail based lCD, have to provide, at their own cost, all the infrastructure facilities including land, track, handling equipment for containers, maintenance of assets including track, rolling stock, etc., as per extant railway rules applicable to private sidings. (f) Tariff: Tariff structure and costing is to be worked out as a part of the feasibility study. (g) General: The main function of an ICD/CFS being receipt, dispatch and clearance of containerized cargo, the need for an up-to-date inventory control and tracking system, to locate containers/cargo, is paramount. Each functional unit of the facility (e.g. siding, containers yard, gate, stuffing, de- stuffing area, etc.) should have up-to-date, and where possible, online information, about all the containers, etc. to meet the requirements of customers, administration, railways, etc. A good communication system and computerization and EDI connectivity is essential. 1.43 The primary functions of an ICD/CFS may be summed up as under:— (i) Receipt and dispatch/delivery of cargo. (ii) Stuffing and stripping of containers. (iii) Transit operations by rail/road to and from serving ports. (iv) Customs clearance. (v) Consolidation and desegregation of Less than Container Load (LCL) cargo. (vi) Temporary storage of cargo and containers. (vii) Reworking of containers. (viii) Maintenance and repair of container units. 1.44 For the purpose of Customs clearance, customs staff is provided at the ICDs/CFSs on cost recovery basis. The sanction for posting of officers is issued by the Administrative Wing of the Central Board of Excise and Customs. The custodians are required to pay @ 185% of total salary of officers actually posted at an ICD/CFS. The Department of Commerce, after examination of the proposal for setting up of ICDs/CFSs, issues Letter of Intent (LoI) to the party. Thereafter, the role of that Department is restricted to coordination with the Department of Revenue (CBEC), Department of Shipping, Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Civil Aviation as and when resolution of problems as regards operationalisation/functioning of ICDs/CFSs is sought. The jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs, after inspection and examination of the infrastructure and facilities developed by party/ company for the approved ICDs/CFSs, issues the notification under section 8 of the Customs Act, declaring the facility as customs area, once required infrastructure for an ICD/CFS is developed. The operators of ICDs/CFSs are appointed custodians by issuing a notification under section 45 of the Customs Act, 1962, as per norms of CBEC as laid down. 11
Indian Customs EDI System (ICES) 1.45 The Indian Customs EDI System (ICES) is an online workflow based transaction processing system, operationalised at all major Customs locations. Currently, the ICES is running in 40 major Customs locations and covers over 85% of the country’s international trade. It is the core Customs application responsible for all the back-end and EDI processing. The ICES works with an Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange Gateway, called ICEGATE, which provides a common electronic window to the external world facilitating e-filing, e-payment and helpdesk services to the Customs users. The system also provides for helpdesk facility. A further addition to the above EDI System is the Risk Management System, which works with ICES, to assess transaction risk on a real-time basis, in order to decide the course of workflow for each transaction. ICES is presently operational at 18 ICDs, 12 Sea ports, eight Air Cargo Complexes and two LCSs. Besides this, Wide Area Network and Local Area Network facilities are being provided at 12 ports, four Air Cargo Complexes, 38 ICDs and 14 LCSs. Of these, ICES implementation at nine ports, three Air Cargo Complexes, 12 ICDs and four Land Customs Stations are being taken up on priority basis. CBEC’s consolidation project is slated to be completed by December, 2009.
Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) 1.46 Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), which came into existence on 2nd March, 1957, presently operates 35 Container Freight Stations (CFSs)/Inland Container Depots (ICDs) across the country. Beside the CFSs/ICDs, CWC is also operating a Land Customs Station (LCS) at Petrapole (in West Bengal), which is spread over an area of 17.06 acres on Indo-Bangladesh border since March, 1999, for providing support to the EXIM trade through land route. 1.47 CWC is also upgrading the existing CFSs/ICDs, including the one at Kolkata Port Trust, for which the Kolkata Port Trust has already provided one acre of land, as the CFS at the said port was running to its full capacity. Apart from the above, the CWC is also taking steps to develop four ICDs at Kannur and FACT Cochin (Kerala), Sita Pura (Jaipur, Rajasthan) and Amritsar on Wagha Border (Punjab); two CFSs at Pipavav Port (Gujarat) and Palta Jetty at Kolkata (West Bengal); and three LCSs at Petrapole (West Bengal), Ghasuapara (Meghalaya) and Raxaul (Bihar).
CONCOR (Container Corporation of India) 1.48 Indian Railways, by virtue of its predominance in transportation of bulk freight and long distance passenger traffic, is the life line of the Indian economy. The network criss - crosses the nation, binding it together, by ferrying freight and passengers across the length and breadth of the country. 1.49 In India, marine containers of ISO standards started arriving in the ports from 1972. Initially, the containers were handled in the ports only. However, from 1981-82 onwards, Indian Railways started transportation of these marine containers to hinterland. Reviewing the situation in 1988, it was observed that while the designated container ports in India had made adequate arrangements to deal with the container traffic, the development of ICDs and the related infrastructure, required for facilitating multimodal transportation, lagged behind. In view of Indian Railways’ focus on transportation of bulk commodities, a perceived need for an organization, that could manage ICDs, was felt. Accordingly, a Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways namely Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR) was incorporated in March, 1988, under the Companies Act, 1956. The Company was set up with the prime objective of developing multimodal transport and logistics infrastructure, to support the country’s growing international trade, as well as for the transport of domestic cargo in containers, by adopting the latest technology and practices. The company commenced operations on 1st November, 1989. Network of CONCOR terminals, spread all over the country and catering to the needs of the trade, consists of 58 EXIM terminals (31 combined EXIM + Domestic Terminals; nine pure domestic terminals; and 18 Pure EXIM Container Terminals, Annexure-II). The 12 entire terminal network is interlinked. The company has planned to expand facilities at the existing terminals (Moradabad, Ratlam, Okhla, Nagpur, Tondiarpet, Sabarmati, Guwahati, Whitefield, Dadri, Dronagiri, Sanath Nagar, Kanpur, Irugur, Bhopal, and Jodhpur) due to expansion of business in these areas. It is also setting up its new terminals at Jalandhar, Rourkela, Durgapur and Khemli. It is envisaged that Rs. 450 crore would be required as capital expenditure (CAPEX) for this purpose over the next five years. Besides this, the Ministry of Railways has granted licenses to fifteen agencies, which are also in the process of setting up ICDs. These agencies have already set up ICDs at Garhi Harsaru, Patli and Noli, while the work for the same at Samalkha, Sanhewal, Sonepat and Faridabad was under progress.
Major Land Customs Stations (lCSs) 1.50 The major Land Customs Stations in India are Attari Rail and Road (Indo-Pakistan Border); Petrapole Road (Indo-Bangladesh Border); Agartala (Indo-Bangladesh Border); Moreh (Indo-Myanmar Border); Raxaul (Indo-Nepal Border). Besides the above, there are the other Land Customs Stations which are listed below:— (i) Indo-Bangladesh Border:— Sutrakandi/Changrabandha/Radhikapura R.S/Hilli/Old Rangabazar/Manu/Dhalaighat/ Khowaighat/Muhurighat/Ghasuapara/Dalu/Baghmara/Mankachar/Dawki/Borsora/Sonamganj/ Balat and Ryngku/Golakganj/Dhubri Streamerghat/Demagiri. (ii) Indo-Bhutan Border:— Hatisar/Ultapani/Darranga/Jaigaon. (iii) Indo-Nepal Border:— Jogbani/Galgalia/Bhimnagar/Sonbarsa/Bhitamore/Bairgania/Panitanki/Pasupatigate/Sonauli/ Gauripantha/Banbasa. (iv) Indo-Myanmar Border:— Champai/Nampong.
Towns of Export Excellence (TEE) 1.51 The Concept of Towns of Export Excellence under the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) was formulated to grant recognition to industrial clusters, with a view to maximizing their potential and enabling them to move higher in value chain and tap new markets. Accordingly, the towns producing goods of Rs. 1,000 crore or more are notified as Towns of Export Excellence (TEE), based on potential for growth in exports. However, for Towns of Export Excellence in Handloom, Handicraft, Agriculture and Fisheries sector, threshold limit has been fixed at Rs. 250 crore. Under the said concept, recognized associations of units would be able to access funds under Market Access Initiative (MAl) scheme for creating focused technological services. Common service providers in these areas should be entitled for Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme. Further, such areas would receive priority for assistance under Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE) Scheme. As on date, 12 towns, covering various States of India, have been selected as Towns of Export Excellence. These are Tirupur in Tamil Nadu for hosiery; Ludhiana (Punjab) for woolen knitwear; Panipat (Haryana) for woolen blankets; Kannur (Kerala), Karur and Madurai (Tamil Nadu), Khekra (Uttar Pradesh) for handlooms; AEKK (Aroor, Ezhupunna, Kodanthuruthu and Kuthiathodu, all in Kerala) for seafood; Jodhpur (Rajasthan) for handicraft; Dewas (Madhya Pradesh) for Pharmaceuticals; Alleppey (Kerala) for coir products; and Kollam (Kerala) for cashew products. 13
CHAPTER-II
Written and oral submissions: Central Ministries/Departments/Board
2.1 The Sub Committee considered the background note on the subject of ‘Towns of Export Excellence and Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, ICDs and LCSs in the Country’, received from the Department of Commerce. Besides inviting written submissions, it heard the views of representatives of various Ministries/Departments/Board, on the subject, which are summarized below:—
Department of Commerce 2.2 The representatives of the Department of Commerce (DoC) appeared before the Committee and submitted that the Department provides some export promotion incentives through various schemes. The department provided transport subsidy on flowers and fruits from the North East. Besides, the department also worked on the standard schemes administered under Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) Scheme, etc., which applied uniformly to everybody, including the North-East. 2.3 Regarding infrastructure, the Department had been operating schemes called the Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE), under which money was given directly to the State Governments for projects for promoting infrastructure for growth of exports. On the issue of development of infrastructure at River Brahmaputra, for promoting it as an inland waterway and to bring it on the international trade map for navigation of export goods, the Department took up the matter in a phased manner and had already spent an amount of Rs. 3,000 crore appx. for the purpose. 2.4 About the ASIDE Scheme, which was claimed to be one of the largest schemes, an amount of Rs. 3,664 crore was sanctioned during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Under this scheme, the department, year-after-year, exhausted whatever allocation was made to it for the purpose. 2.5 On the issue of bringing more towns under the scheme of Towns of Export Excellence as notified under the Foreign Trade Policy, the towns producing goods worth Rs. 1,000 crores or more were notified as Towns of Export Excellence (TEE), based on the potential for growth in exports. The threshold limit for the TEE in the Handloom, Handicraft, Agriculture and Fisheries sector was Rs.250 crore. Such notification of towns was based on verification of the requisite data/statistics made by the Department, for which two benefits were envisaged. First benefit was in terms of the infrastructure needs under the ASIDE Scheme. In terms of second benefit, these towns had been extended the liberty to import capital goods under the EPCG Scheme. Regarding the Town of Export Excellence in the States like Andhra Pradesh and Orissa that undertake the exports activities, the Department proposed to coordinate with the DGFT for the purpose.
Department of Revenue 2.6 The Secretary, Department of Revenue (DoR) informed that out of the 346 notified airports, seaports, Inland Container Depots (ICDs), and Land Customs Stations (LCSs) for import and export purposes, the Department of Revenue had roughly only fifty establishments on the Customs side, where 85% of the trade was covered. On the Customs side, most of the transactions were being done on a computer-aided system. The Department was likely to take a considerable time for providing the facility of computer aided system at all the stations.
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2.7 With regard to selection of airports for extending the benefit of exports infrastructure, the Department did not select them on the basis of the States, but went by the volume of trade and export. For the purpose of notification of an airport as an international airport, the Ministry of Civil Aviation first approves an airport as domestic one and then notifies the same as an international airport. After that, the Customs come into picture which handles the cargo related aspects. 2.8 Regarding need to have a roadmap for infrastructural development for promotion of exports covering various parts of the country in a phased manner, on infrastructure side the Department had institutionalised standing committees on promotion of exports through air and shipping. There was a linkage between the concerned State Governments, the Central Government, and the nodal Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 2.9 With regard to provision of housing and other facilities, especially in inclement positions like that of Nepal, Bangladesh border and on Kutch side, there was sufficient staff strength at Raxaul on Indo-Nepal Border, at Petrapole on Bangladesh border and at Attari Road near Amritsar, where proper housing facilities had been provided.
Department of Food and Public Distribution 2.10 During the deliberations with the Committee, the Department of Food and Public Distribution informed that they had started running container trains between Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Loni on Delhi border, and that another container train facility had been expanded in Kalamboli in Navi Mumbai, besides the existing container train facilities between Loni – Mundra, Loni – Jawaharlal Nehru Port, and Loni – Vizag. The department had plans to convert the existing terminals in Vashi in Navi Mumbai, Amritsar and Nabha into Rail Container Terminals, to handle the export-import trade for which they were in dialogue with the Ministry of Railways. 2.11 Apart from the existing four Air Cargo Complexes (ACCs), the department proposed to have one more in Krompet, outside Chennai, adjoining the Meenambakkam airport, so as to convert the same to handle the export and import air-freight cargo. The Department was running 36 Container Freight Stations (CFSs) and wanted to have three more such stations in future at Kannur and Cochin in Kerala, and Pipavav in Gujarat. 2.12 With regard to the Land Customs Stations (LCSs), apart from the one LCS at Petrapole on Indo-Bangladesh border, they had plans to run LCSs in Meghalaya (Ghasuapara), Nathu La on Sikkim border and at Wagha in Amritsar. 2.13 Regarding expansion plans of the existing infrastructure, they were creating an additional warehouse, to handle the export cargo aggregation, wherever a warehouse exceeded its capacity. They had been allotted one acre of land at Kolkata Port, where their CFS was running to its full capacity. 2.14 Regarding the phytosanitary conditions in the warehouses, it was informed that out of the six thousand manpower, they had 650 people, who were trained in technical aspects of fumigation and cargo disinfestations.
Department of Shipping 2.15 The representative(s) of the Department of Shipping submitted that all the 12 major port were either developed or were in the process of development under a 20 years’ perspective plan. The matter of linking the airports to ports was under examination. 2.16 In terms of growth, there had been a phenomenal growth at ports in Kandla, Goa, and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). However, that much of growth was not there at the Kolkata Port. With regard to connectivity in terms of rail and road from the ports, the Committee of Secretaries had identified certain priorities for rail and road connectivity from various ports. 15
2.17 On the issue of creation of a better navigational system especially in the Ganges River, dredging is the primary area where the department had failed as it was weak in dredging equipments due to the reason that the dredging ship was a very specialized technology, for which the world depended on two or three major suppliers, and the secondary area is the requirement of jetties. However, there was a programme to have permanent jetties. About the manufacturing of ships, the country had the technology for manufacture of small ships. 2.18 Regarding rail connectivity, 12 projects had been identified. Out of this, there were two specific projects at Paradip Port, which were just to be improved and develop the rail connectivity. Besides this, there were projects at Kandla, Tuticorin, Mumbai, Ennore, Cochin and Haldia. With regard to coastal shipping, which was one of the missing areas that lacked focus in the past, it was the area where each of the major ports was developing a sort of hinterland approach, through which the minor ports in the vicinity would get linked to a major port. All the cargo from these areas would move via coastal shipping facilitating exports to other countries, or shipment to other parts of the country. These ports would develop linkages for smaller cargo loads from the neighbouring minor ports, the major ports would actually become the hubs for their respective areas. 2.19 In the matter of infrastructure at shipping side, the Department had a fairly very large programme of Rs. 1,00,000 crore investment in the Plan period, under which 276 specific projects would be covered. Out of this, twenty five projects were related to deepening the channels, seventy six projects to port development, involving jetties, berths, etc. All this attracted an investment of almost Rs. 32,000 crore. Besides this, fifty two projects were envisaged for procurement, replacement and upgradation of port equipment. Another forty five projects were related to port connectivity.
Ministry of Civil Aviation 2.20 During interaction with the Committee, the representatives of the Ministry of Civil Aviation submitted that air cargo sector in the country had not developed to its potential, and the prevailing level of air cargo volume was very small. There is tremendous scope for promoting air cargo. There were, however, two basic constraints. One was related to infrastructure, and the second to procedures. Regarding infrastructure, the Ministry had started a massive programme of augmenting airport infrastructure through out the country. Two Greenfield airports were commissioned in Bangaluru and Hyderabad during 2008 with enhanced cargo capacity. There is still scope for expansion of capacity at Hyderabad airport. About the infrastructure at Delhi airport, the expansion and modernization programme was in progress and was also moving as per schedule. There was, however, no scope of augmenting the capacity at the Mumbai airport due to land constraints. Accordingly, approval was accorded for building of a Greenfield airport at Navi Mumbai, with the provision to enhance capacity of air cargo. 2.21 Similarly, the Government had given approval for expansion and modernization of Kolkata and Chennai airports. It had also given clearance for development of 35 non-metro airports, covering all the State capital airports. In addition it had established Perishable Cargo Centres at various airports, the important ones being Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangaluru, Amritsar, Mumbai, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) was going to spend an amount of Rs. 12,000 crore on the 35 non – metro airports and two metro airports namely, Chennai and Kolkata. The AAI had been given the mandate to develop the airside facility and the terminal facility whereas, on the city – side facility, including the cargo facility, it was going to be done under the PPP for the said 35 non – metro airports. 2.22 The current procedures needed to be streamlined, as the same were throttling the growth of air cargo, for which the Ministry of Commerce was closely monitoring its Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Scheme. The said scheme had been implemented at four airports, viz., Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai and was likely to be extended to other airports in due course under a phase-wise programme. 16
2.23 On the issue of airport charges, the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) Bill had already been passed by the Parliament, and steps were being taken to make it operational by April, 2009. About airport development, there was no budgetary support or funding from the Ministry of Finance, except for airport development in the North-Eastern States. As such, the task of airport development was being done through IEBR or private funding, and there was a provision for an investment of Rs. 40,000 crore under the Eleventh Five Year Plan in that particular sector.
Railway Board 2.24 The representatives of the Railway Board, during interaction with the Committee, informed that the Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR) was the leading player and 15 other private container operators had started their operations during 2008. The CONCOR had already got 58 container terminals with them, whereas the private operators had get three. The CONCOR was planning to spend about Rs. 500 crore in the next five years, for development of various container terminals. The private container terminals have also plans to spend the money, and were planning to develop such terminals at the ports and also in the hinterland. 2.25 Regarding construction of more lines and hauling cargo, the capacity, which was a major constraint and the Board was providing third lines, where they had two lines, and where they had three lines, they were making provision of the fourth line. The Board proposed to build dedicated freight corridors for the Western and the Eastern sectors. The Western Corridor was coming right up to Tughlakabad via Ahmedabad, while Eastern corridor, starting from Kolkata, would be built via Allahabad, Kanpur to Ludhiana. These two corridors would add a lot of container capacity, particularly for the Western corridor. For connecting Gujarat and its ports, there were many minor ports, which would be connected through feeder routes, which were being developed. 2.26 A Dedicated Freight Corporation Ltd., responsible for development of all the corridors was being setting up. The Corporation had completed the final local survey of all the corridors. With the monetary support from the Government and assistance from Japan in terms of both technology and finance, the Western Corridor would be coming up. 2.27 Regarding signal system, a lot of upgradation of signals was being done. All the old signals were being revamped and new electronic signals were being provided at all the important routes. 2.28 In terms of stay arrangements for passengers, the Government had planned to provide 100 paid hotels/high level platforms, with minimum cost, across the country. Besides this, they were increasing the rolling stock, including the high capacity wagons. 2.29 The Railway workshops required a lot of improvement and they were going to sanction modernization of the same. 17
CHAPTER-III
STUDY VISITS
3.1 Sub Committee II of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, in order to gather first hand information on the subject of Towns of Export Excellence and Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, ICDs and LCSs in the Country, visited the States of Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore, Tirupur, and Chennai); Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alleppey, and Cochin) from 18th to 22nd February, 2008; Sikkim (Gangtok, and Nathu la), Assam (Guwahati), Manipur (Imphal, and Moreh on Indo-Myanmar border), Tripura (Agartala and Land Customs Station at Indo-Bangla Border) and West Bengal (Kolkata and Majerhat on Indo-Bangla Border) from 24th to 31st May, 2008; Ahmedabad (Ahmedabad Airport, Sabarmati Concor Terminal, CWC Terminal at Adalaj), Mumbai (CWC Terminal at Logistic Park and Impex Park at Navi Mumbai, JNPT, Mumbai Airport), Bangaluru (Bangaluru Airport and Whitefield Concor Terminal), Hyderabad (Hyderabad Airport, Sanathnagar Concor Terminal and CWC Terminal at Kukatpally) and Visakhapatnam (Visakhapatnam Airport, Port, Concor and CWC Terminal) from 4th to 9th September, 2008; and Greater Noida (ICD and CWC Terminals), Amritsar (Amritsar Airport, CWC Terminal, ICDs, and LCS at Attari), Ludhiana (Town of Export Excellence, and Pure EXIM Container Terminal at Dhandharikalan), Panipat (Town of Export Excellence), Mundra Port and Kandla Port in Gujarat from 27th November to 1st December, 2008. The feedback received by the Sub Committee is summarized in the succeeding paragraphs.
Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Land Customs Stations (LCSs) in the Country Airports Coimbatore Airport 3.2 There are six Inland Container Deports (ICDs), one Air Cargo Complex and one International Airport situated within the Commissionerate of Coimbatore, which cater to the need of importers and exporters. Flights from the International Airport are being operated to Sharjah, Singapore and Colombo. Major items of import are gold, machinery and plastics, whereas readymade garments, textile machinery and tea are the major items of export. 3.3 The Air cargo was started on 10th July, 1995 and was operating at ICD, Singanallur. From 1st November, 2001, it shifted its operations from ICD, Singanallur to Coimbatore Airport. The Air Cargo Terminal at the airport was commissioned in 2001. A walk-in cold storage facility was available for perishable cargo. There was a proposal for augmentation of storage space of export/import cargo and that the Electronic Data Interchange facility was yet to be introduced at the Airport. There was a need to equip the Air Cargo Complex, Coimbatore with various sophisticated equipments and amenities, for smooth functioning.
Cochin Airport 3.4 The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) was in the process of creating a full fledged Cargo Village, capable of handling air freight, sea freight, rail freight and road freight – Multi Model Transport. As an immediate step, CIAL proposed to provide immediately various additional facilities like Exclusive Cargo Freighter Parking Bay; Equipments for Freighter handling; Introduction of e-Trade; Revamping and remodeling existing ACC, exclusively for General Cargo operations.
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Guwahati International Airport 3.5 Presently, there was only one International flight from Guwahati to Bangkok on every Wednesday and the route was Guwahati/Bangkok/Guwahati, due to which the passengers had to face inconvenience, as they had to stay in Bangkok for six days. International flights from Guwahati to Thailand; Myanmar; Bangladesh; China; Malaysia, etc. should be introduced, as the direct air connectivity would considerably improve International Trade and Tourism. There was a large Air Cargo Complex for EXIM, with sufficient cold storage, for storing perishable horticulture and agro products. 3.6 Guwahati was a big business hub in the North East. Though there was also an international airport, yet it seemed to have been overlooked in terms of infrastructure that matches international standards. Due to lack of proper focus and promotional policies on the part of Government, people of the area had been deprived of moving to international destinations, to sell out their products. The River Brahmputra, for which the Government had allocated an amount of Rs. 270 crore to develop it into a better navigational system, could be used effectively for commercial purposes, so as to get closer to the Bay of Bengal, which, in turn, could help the people reach international destinations.
Kolkata Airport 3.7 The International Air Cargo terminal at Kolkata Airport, which was commissioned on 5th October, 1975, was the first Air Cargo terminal in the country. It was well connected with road infrastructure for smooth functioning of air cargo services. Various airline agencies, connected with the clearance and pre-shipment formalities, were in-housed in the Air Cargo Complex. The Cargo terminal had three wings for processing of Export/Import Cargo and unaccompanied baggage (Import), besides Disposal Unit for disposal of unclaimed/uncleared cargo. Of late, there had been a spurt in export of agro-products like vegetables, fruits and flowers through this airport. Agri-products were also coming from the north-eastern States, with destinations outside the country. The present available cold storage was neither adequate, nor proper. For the perishable goods, the airport needed movement of aircrafts, with adequate facilities of freezing tank, failing which the dispatched perishable goods were liable to be declared unusable when the same reached the destination. This made the local exporters route their cargo through other airports, at extra costs. It was submitted that the airport should provide the facilities to pick up agri-products coming from north-eastern region through domestic airlines, without involving a third party handling from domestic cargo shed to international cargo shed, involving extra cost and time; direct booking of cargo by air for export may be allowed from the distant domestic airports in north-eastern region. Air cargo shed should be equipped with a documentation cell, with facilities for direct communication at all the airports.
Ahmedabad Airport 3.8 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport has scheduled connections with New York, Sharjah, London, Kuwait, Muscat and Dubai. Airports Authority of India operates the SVPI Airport, round the clock. It has a New Domestic Departure/Arrival Terminal Building, with a capacity 800 Departing/arriving passengers. Besides this, a new International Terminal Building, an area of 41,000 sq. meters and a passenger capacity of 800 arriving passengers + 800 departing passengers, was under construction, with a cost of 290 crore, with a target date of completion of 31st March, 2009.
Air Cargo Complex, Ahmedabad 3.9 The Air cargo complex, set up in 1977 by the Government of Gujarat, helps importers and exporters to carry out their operations from Ahmedabad. It was privatized in March, 2004 and handled 14,337 MTs of cargo during 2007-08, valued at Rs. 27,000 crore. The post - privatisation details of the various initiatives taken by it are:— 19
– Added 3,000 sq. ft of warehouse space; – Created cold room 2° to 20°; – New Strong room for diamond; – Introduced bonded trucking; – Procured three forklifts, stackers, trollies, X-ray machine; – Fully computerized operation; – Obtained ISO 9001-2000 certification; – CCTV system; and – Created office space for CHA. 3.10 Fruits and vegetables, Dyes, chemicals, Petroleum products are the parts of International and domestic trading. The Air Cargo Complex is facing problems related to warehousing space and dedicated cold storage for perishable commodities. A need for maintenance of the existing levels of royalty share and allocation of land for a tenure of 15 years in respect of the cargo operators at the Airport was being felt.
Mumbai Airport 3.11 The Mumbai Airport is India’s number one airport in cargo volumes, and it falls among top 40 airports in the world, serviced by world’s top international airlines. It is a major international gateway and transit point. MIAL (Mumbai International Airport Limited) and Air India (AI) are the Terminal operators for General cargo, while Air India is the Terminal operator for perishable cargos. Express Industry Council of India is the terminal operator for Courier. MIAL and AI share an export traffic of 6,590 and 3,590, respectively. The ICEGATE system, at times, malfunctioned causing undue hardships to the customers for no fault of theirs. It was submitted that despite repeated requests from customers, the authorities were not taking remedial measures, to rectify the system.
Bangaluru International Airport 3.12 The export infrastructure at the new Bangaluru airport consists of two separate cargo terminal facilities, built and operated by Air India SATS (Singapore Air Terminal Services), a Joint Venture Company and Menzies Aviation Bobba (Bangaluru) Pvt. Ltd. The BIAL Air Cargo Agents Association (ACCAI) and Bangaluru Customs House Agents’ Association (BCHAAL), raised an issue for provision of a state-of-the-Art Cargo Village, fully equipped with modern warehouse and related facilities, besides adequate office space for efficient and timely functioning of the cargo handlers, for the overall benefit of the EXIM trade, within the BIAL Complex, for the forwarders/CHAs. The BIAL officials assured to provide permanent facilities by 2011. The matter regarding unilateral collection of higher charges, than the AAI Tariff by the Menzies Bobba and Air India SATS was also raised.
Hyderabad Airport 3.13 Hyderabad is in the geographic centre of India which makes its airport a strategic hub, for both the domestic and International air traffic. The new airport has been developed by GHIAL, and is located 22 km from the city centre of Hyderabad. A modular terminal building has been built to accommodate 12 million passengers annually, with starting capacity of seven million.
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) 3.14 GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited is a public-private joint venture between GMR 20
Group, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, and both the State Government of Andhra Pradesh and Airports Authority of India (AAI), with GMR Group being the majority shareholder. GHIAL has built the new Hyderabad International Airport, based on a unique public-private partnership model, the promoters, led by GMR Group have firmly established Hyderabad as a preferred destination on the global map. GMR also manages Delhi Airport and Airport in Istanbul. The Government of Andhra Pradesh, over the past few years, had recorded significant economic growth, primarily contributed by growth in secondary and tertiary sectors. Airports Authority of India (AAI) is the agency for Indian airports and is responsible for developing, managing and operating all major airports in the country.
Rajasansi International Airport, Amritsar 3.15 Air Cargo Complex at the Rajasansi International Airport was notified for export and import in 1980. Central Warehousing Corporation has been appointed custodian of export/import cargo for this Air cargo complex. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has also been appointed as custodian for another Air Cargo Complex. There was sufficient area for handling of import/export cargo at CWC but no major handling of import and export cargo from CWC takes place. The Sub Committee were informed that the traders have been facing problems due to non-availability of x-ray facility, which is used for screening of export goods by Airlines Security, and equipments for loading and unloading of heavy cargo. Various suggestions were made by the traders during discussion with the Sub Committee. There were concession in airline freight rates; waiver of license fee by Airports Authority of India; implementation of EDI system at the airport, to avoid delay in duty drawback payments to exporters; and permission to allow bonded trucking from Delhi into Amritsar Airport were made by the traders.
International Air Cargo Terminal, IGI Airport, Delhi 3.16 This is the first semi mechanized integrated common user Cargo Terminal and the biggest integrated cargo terminal in the country, by size. It handles 2nd highest cargo volumes after Mumbai, 30% of the total international cargo of the county is handled through this terminal. It has the Lowest Dwell Time in terms of processing time of cargo in the country. It has the facility of the EDI and Bar Code system, for the benefits of the customers. There was a proposal for provision of two cargo terminals (existing terminal and Greenfield terminal); integrated express terminal; and logistics facilities (on Airport facilitation to trade). Despite various measures for smooth functioning of the cargo terminal, there was a need to provide many things, for ensuring proper functioning of the terminal viz., relaxation of access for cargo carrying vehicles to and from the Airport (intra/inter city), to facilitate the cargo trade; constitution of a team of all stakeholders namely, Airport Operator, Airlines, Customers and Trade representatives, to jointly study few leading airports and suggest improvements to benchmark with international standards; and encouragement for building up Unit concept for cargo handling, in line with international best practices, which will reduce processing time; reduction in landing charges for cargo flights to incentivise export of India; and provision of suitable space under the concept of Cargo Village for stake holders at the airport. The reduction in landing charges was likely to facilitate the airlines to consider India for Cargo Hub, which is totally missing, as most of the major Hubs in the world have maximum transit tonnage from other international airports.
Ports Cochin Port Trust, Cochin 3.17 The Cochin Port is one of the Major Ports in the Southern Peninsula, catering to the hinterland of Kerala, Western Tamil Nadu and Southern Karnataka, and had adequate infrastructural capabilities to handle import/export cargo. The Port had two Wharfs and three Oil Tanker Berths and a Container Terminal, to handle liquid bulk, dry bulk, container and general cargo. The Port also had sufficient covered (57,485 Sq. mts) and open (1,00,000 Sq. mts) storage area for storage of cargo. Tank 21
Farms had also been set up in the Port land by the private operators, for the storage of liquid bulk cargo. 3.18 The Port had excellent Rail and Road connectivity. It was connected to the South Railway Grid through the Harbour Railway station, and was connected to NH-47, NH-17 and NH-49. It also had an added advantage of being connected through the National Waterway No.3, connecting Kollam to Kottapuram.
Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), Kolkata 3.19 At the Kolkata Port, which consisted of Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock system, the capacity of the Docks had reached the saturation point with the increased movement of cargo, and needed immediate expansion. There was also an urgent need for improvement of the connecting road to Kolkata Dock, which is being operated by a single road, i.e. the Circular Garden Reach Road (Karl Marx Road). The rail link bridge at Khidderpore Dock needed to be repaired/replaced, to facilitate entry of heavy vehicles from the north side to Kolkata Dock area. With a view to modernize the existing infrastructure, an outlay of Rs. 996.06 crore has been projected in the Eleventh Five Year Plan for Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), for execution of various projects, which included berths, related infrastructure and logistics support; craft and equipment; civic infrastructure and deepening of channel; and connectivity.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust 3.20 The Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the biggest container handling Port in India, handling around 60% of the country’s containerized cargo, crossing the historic landmark of four million TEUs in container throughput. It is ranked 24th among the top 100 Container Ports in the world, Having set for itself a long term goal of achieving 10 million TEUs by the year 2014-15, JNP throws open an array of worthwhile opportunities for Shipping Lines and Shippers, to ferry their cargo to various sectors across the globe. There are world class infrastructures, with impeccable technological standards. Facilities at JNP comprise a full-fledged Customs House, above 30 Container Freight Stations and a large number of lCD’s across the country. Excellent hinterland connectivity, both by rail and road, as well as proximity to Airports, Hotels, etc, gives the Port an extra edge, to address the shippers’ needs efficiently and promptly. 3.21 Its future development plans include deepening and widening of Main Harbour and JN Port channel; road infrastructure: extension of Container Berth, with other facilities at the Port; rail transport logistic studies; improvement of internal Port roads; development of pavement behind Shallow Draught Berth; widening of Port road from Central Gate Complex to Junction near PUB and allied works; widening of first approach bridge to container berth and construction of protective structure to landing Jetty; infrastructure facilities for Port based Industries, etc. There was an immense problem of congestion in handling and clearance of containers at the Port, which was a common feature at all the ports, airports, as well at various ICDs and LCSs.
Kandla and Mundra 3.22 Kandla Sea Port, the largest port of Gujarat, situated in Kachchh District, was inaugurated in 1956 and was converted as major Port with effect from 20th February, 1964. It is the gateway port for States like Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, and the rich Industrial belt of West and North India. This is an all-weather port, that mainly handles agricultural cargo and other bulk liquid cargo. 3.23 Mundra is an all-weather port, having a natural draft of 17 Mts., and notified in September, 1997 for operation by Gujarat Adani Private Limited. The port is specialized in handling 22 bulk import and export cargo, including liquid cargo. The loading and unloading is mostly done by a conveyor system.
Infrastructure and facilities at Kandla and Mundra ports 3.24 Kandla port is equipped with modern euipments and facilities. Kandla Port has 12 jetties for dry cargo and six jetties for liquid cargo. In addition, it also has two virtual jetties for discharging petroleum products to shore tanks. There are six container freight stations, operating in the close vicinity of the port, where stuffing, examination, and storing of the export cargo is done before their exports. There are 210 liquid tanks, to store approximately 9,00,832 KLs liquid cargo. Further, there are 10 customs-bonded warehouses to store dry cargo. Various issues being faced at the Kandla Port, were renewal of various lease agreements; exclusive jetty for export of salt; utilization of Tune Barge Jetty; construction of New Jetties at Port; and Operation of bigger type of aircrafts at Kandla Aerodrome. 3.25 Mundra Port has nine jetties for dry cargo and two jetties for liquid cargo. There is an ultra modern conveyor system to handle the bulk cargo. There are 65 liquid tanks, to store approximately 2,78,829 KLs liquid cargo. Since July, 2003, a container terminal started operating by Mundra International Container Terminal. There are 10 container freight stations, operating in the close vicinity of the port. There has been a healthy growth of exports at Mundra Port, as against export of 1,96,233 containers upto October, during 2007-08, 2,34,731 containers with a growth of about 20%, had been exported during the same period of 2008-09.
Export Infrastructure at ICDs and LCSs lCD, Irugur (Coimbatore) 3.26 The ICD was started in 1983 at Railways Goods Shed, Coimbatore which, due to space constraints and easy accessibility, was shifted to Irugur on 18th February, 2005. This ICD deals mainly with the exports of machinery, tea and garments and import of machineries. All the customs formations in Coimbatore Commissionerate work on the manual system, since Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) was yet to be implemented. In order to enable speedy assessment of bills, clearance of cargo, processing of drawback claims and disbursal of drawback, EDI was the need of the hour for, which the matter had been addressed to the Central Board of Excise and Customs for implementation at the earliest.
Inland Container Depot (ICD), Amingaon (Guwahati) 3.27 The ICD at Amingaon was the only one serving the entire North-Eastern Region. In terms of location, the ICD was at a dis-advantageous position, as the nearest sea port Kolkata was at a distance of 1,100 kilometers. The primary item of export was tea. There was hardly any import, and the exporters had to pay even for bringing empty containers from Kolkata to load their exports. There was a need for a concession of 6% on rail freight, which was presently being provided by the Railways for full rake movements from in and out of the North East, which should be extended to cover export rakes from lCD, Amingaon, being operated by the CONCOR.
Inland Container Depot (ICD), Sabarmati, Ahmedabad 3.28 The lCD, Sabarmati, the flagship Depot of Northwest Region, commenced its operations in September, 1990, just as a Rail transfer facility and had many firsts to its credit, as it had achieved many milestones since its inception, despite severe competition with Container Freight Stations (CFSs) operating in proximity to the ports. This ICD provides excellent rail/road connectivity for containerized cargo to gateway ports having worldwide access. It serves the trade in the hinterland of Gujarat and 23
Western Rajasthan. Besides, the other milestones achieved are Administrative building commissioned in January, 1994; Export CFS made operational in September, 1995; road transportation facility commenced in January-1996; part of CFS dedicated to Imports in September, 1997; use of IT for computerized documents commenced in 1997; CC paving done for smooth operation in ICD; LCL-bonded trucking facility started in October, 2000; Air Cargo bonded trucking facility started in October, 2000; High Speed Trains (BLC wagon) introduced in November, 2000; new Import warehouse commissioned in May, 2002; ISO 9001:2000 certificate from BIS obtained in May, 2003; Bonded Warehousing facility Commenced in January, 2004; commissioned examination facility for BLC rakes in ICD in January, 2004; faster connectivity provided to Mundra and Pipavav Ports by CONRAJ rail services in February, 2004; remote printing of Inland Way Bills commenced in September, 2004; Integrated with EXIM Terminal Management System (ETMS) for centralized work across India with online tracking of containers in February, 2004; new Warehouse for export made operational in March, 2006; the facility for Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) statement provided to customers in Auto send mode in April, 2006; Customer Query Terminal set up in June, 2007; and the facility of sending Train Summary by e-mail commenced in February, 2008. 3.29 ICD Sabarmati is handling more than 400 commodities and provides services to more than 1500 major exporters of the State. With regard to Exports and Imports, the ICD has become the nerve centre of Gujarat for Road/Rail/Sea cargo and container movement. It has well-laid out strategies, operational network, skilled manpower and systems, geared up to provide services to valuable clients. This had given every reason to the EXIM trade fraternity to look up to CONCOR for prompt, efficient and economical mode of transportation, to their utmost satisfaction. The ICD offers Transit Warehousing facility, CFS Stuffing and factory stuffing facility, Customs Services, alongwith the officials for clearing exports and Imports cargo, LCL cargo containers. All these services are provided at one place. All shipping lines are maintaining inventory of empty containers and hence, customers have a wide choice. It provides hassle free, single-window clearance to its customers, in an efficient manner.
Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), Ahmedabad 3.30 The Ahmedabad Region of the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), which came into existence during 1969, operates 31 units in the Gujarat State, with a capacity of 7.46 lac MTs. Apart from General Warehousing activities, the Corporation has been operating seven Container Freight Stations/Inland Clearance Depots in Gujarat, including state-of-the-art CFS facilities at Kandla and Mundra Ports. These are:— (1) Container Freight Station, Gandhidham; (2) Inland Clearance Depot, Dashrath (Baroda); (3) Inland Clearance Depot, Valvada; (4) Container Freight Station, Kandla; (5) Container Freight Station-II (OCY) , Kandla; (6) Container Freight Station, Mundra; and (7) Container Freight Station, Adalaj.
CFS Mulund, Mumbai 3.31 CFS Mulund, Mumbai was established in year 1991, to ease the pressure of JNPT and Mumbai Port. As the Indian economy opened up and gathered momentum in the early 1990s, the imports and exports through Mumbai Port multiplied and strained its already overworked infrastructure, leading to congestion and delays in cargo clearance. The CFS Mulund, with its excellent Rail and Road 24 connectivity, grew into a popular dry port drawing not only Mumbai-based trade, but also that from the hinterland. With this, import clearance at Mulund was also introduced. Various other initiatives, like introduction of EDI System, trust-based Regime for quick clearance of Export Cargo; touch screen facility for instant monitoring of Shipping Bills; core banking facilities, etc., were also introduced, to facilitate the exports.
CFS, New Mulund, Mumbai 3.32 Container Freight Station (CFS), New Mulund is one of the pioneers Container Freight Station (CFS) in Mumbai, which commenced operations in the year 1995. Presently, this is the only CFS located in the vicinity of Municipal limits of Greater Mumbai, and is equipped with the entire infrastructure required for any CFS, to serve the EXIM business in Mumbai area. The CFS caters not only to the Mumbai-based trade, but also to the hinterland EXIM traffic, due to its excellent rail and road connectivity. The facility of duty drawback on exported goods was also introduced in April, 2001. The CFS is providing services of a specialized customs-friendly logistics services in three major business streams-Import, Export and Empty Repositioning. Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), Mumbai 3.33 The Central Warehousing Corporation has been providing scientific storage facilities, to store agricultural produce and notified commodities, at reasonable cost. In order to expand its activities, it has been diversifying into different areas. The Corporation has also been providing Pest Control Services under Disinfestations Extension Service Scheme since 1968, for the benefit of farmers, traders, exporters, importers, shipping agents, etc., and has made tremendous progress in this field. 3.34 On the request of JNPT authorities, the Corporation converted one of its Warehouses at Kalamboli as Export – CFS in the year 1989 and, thereafter, acquired 16 Ha. land from CIDCO, to start first CFS, catering to JN Port in Dronagiri Node Warehousing Complex, followed by CFS- Distripark in 12.5 Ha. Land, CFS – Impex Park in 3.5 Ha. land, and CFS – Logistics Park in 30 Ha. land. All the five CFSs are presently handling 22,000 – 25,000 TEUs (loaded — Import and Export cargo containers) per month. The Corporation has ventured into creating a railway siding infrastructure at two of its CFSs viz., CFS – Kalamboli and CFS – Logistics Park, which will go a long way in reducing the logistics cost on account of secondary transportation and handling for transporting these goods to CFS, as exporters can bring the export cargo directly into the CFS, where it will be unloaded, cleared by Customs and stuffed into the containers for exports.
Inland Container Depot, Whitefield, Bangaluru 3.35 The Inland Container Depot (ICD), located in the center of Bangaluru’s fastest growing Industrial hub at Whitefield at a distance of 35 km from the Bangaluru International Airport, was spread over an area of 50.61 hectares. The ICD caters to all the major industrial centres of Karnataka and serves the trade of North-West Tamil Nadu, South-West Andhra Pradesh and North Kerala. The lCD, in terms of infrastructure for the benefit of customers, has various Cargo and Container Handling Facilities viz., three full-length rail sidings, each with capacity of 45 wagons for handling trains; nine warehouses, having a total covered area of 27,225 sq. m for storage of International Cargo; one warehouse, having an area of 1,500 sq. m for storage of Domestic Cargo; full-fledged customs facility with EDI connectivity; connectivity to all the major Gateway ports, i.e. Chennai, Tuticorin and Cochin by Rail and Road; facility for FCL (Full Container Load) and LCL (Less than container Load) cargo bookings; bonded warehouses, with facilities for multi – stack and refrigerated cargo; reefer power points; abundant paved area for stacking of containers; large truck/trailer parking area, with weighbridge facility; bonded trucking of air cargo to major Airports in special containers, and trained Labour for stuffing/destuffing/packing/repacking, with special expertise to handle coffee, granite, gherkins and engineering goods for export. Besides, it has other public amenities like Bank Extension counter for 25 all Banking services; Office space for customers and Business center. However, despite all out efforts by the concerned authorities to improve the standards of infrastructure to help the traders, there were some bottlenecks, particularly in terms of connectivity. There is no proper rail connection to Cochin Port. Similarly, there is no convenient rail connection to Tuticorin Port. Chennai (Madras Port) was the only source for lCD, Bangaluru. The handling charges, compared to private CFS and CWC, were higher and the Container road movement charges from out of the ICD to any port were about twice the market price (Container Corporation of India); CFS did not have proper lighting system. There were no proper facilities for storage (most of the packages stored beyond three days was full of bird droppings, accumulation of dust on packages). The waiting period for getting container/closed body trucks ranged from two to three days, resulting in delay in shipping the goods. For the full import container from Chennai to Bangaluru lCD, it took five to six days. If the goods were to come on LCL (Less Container Load), it took around 12 days. These goods/raw materials, were meant for export production, and because of such delays in getting the imported materials, exporters were facing difficulty to keep up their delivery schedules in addition to the locking of their capital, etc. Handling- Bad handling in CFS was also noticed. Most of the packages got damaged due to careless handling at the time of loading/unloading. lCD, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad 3.36 Inland Container Depot (ICD), Sanathnagar, was set up in the premises of Railway Goods shed complex, Moosapet, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad, in December, 1990, for handling and transportation of containers. Subsequently, a full-fledged rail linked ICD was commissioned in June, 1998, to cater to the needs of Exporters/Importers, connecting hinterland of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In terms of infrastructure, the ICD has two warehouses of 4,200 Sq. mts and 2,100 Sq. mts, respectively, for handling and storage of Export, Import and bonded cargo, and Strong room facility for high value items. It has a paved area of 66,000 Sq. mts with container stacking capacity of 3,000 TEUs. It also has one full-length Rail siding of 45 Wagons, to accommodate a 90 TEU Container Freight Train.
CWC, Hyderabad 3.37 CWC Hyderabad region was set up in the year 1967, for operating public Warehouses in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The State is predominantly agri-based and, as such, CWC is catering to the storage needs of farmers, traders and others. The Corporation also set up a Container Freight Station at Kukatpally, Hyderabad, in February, 1998, as part of its diversification activities.
CONCOR, Visakhapatnam 3.38 The Rail linked Container terminal was commissioned for transportation of containers by rail from Visakhaptnam Port Trust railway yard in December, 2002. Keeping in view the potential and demand of CFS business, a full fledged rail linked container terminal, adjacent to the Visakhapatnam Port, was commissioned on 30th April, 2005, for handling of Exim traffic and Domestic traffic. The terminal has a natural locational advantage in terms of connectivity to Visakhapatnam Port, Indian Railway network and National Highway network. As a result, the terminal serves not only its immediate hinterland belt (various districts in A.P), but also a part of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, due to its locational advantage. The main Exim cargo being handled at this terminal is Ferro Crome, Mill Scale, refrigerated traffic, cashew nut, cotton bales, machinery, refractory bricks, etc. Domestic cargo is dispatched in containers to different destinations viz., Tughlakabad (New Delhi), Phillaur, Raipur, Khodiyar, Singrauli, Majerhat (Kolkata), Rourkela, Raniganj. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL). Visakhapatnam offers considerable volume on a regular basis. The terminal is equipped with the facilities like one warehouse of 2,000 Sq. mts, for storage of Export and Import 26 cargo; Paved Area of 20,000 Sq. mts, with container stack yard having capacity to stack 1,500 TEUs; HT Supply of 150 KVA with back-up of one DG Sets (82.5 KVA); one full length Rail siding which can accommodate a full rake; 05 Reefer Points, for Export of Aqua products in reefer containers. 3.39 Apart from above, following amenities have been provided to ensure the smooth functioning of the terminal:— (a) Round-the-clock Security. (b) Day/Night operations with 04 High-Mast flood light tower lights. (c) Fast customs clearance by Customs team under one superintendent of Customs and one preventive officer. (d) Full fledged container repairing facility. (e) E-mail and internet linkage with all CONCOR terminals. (f) 60 MT capacity electronic weigh bridge.
Inland Container Depot, (CWC), Surajpur, Greater Noida 3.40 ICD, Surajpur, which commenced in January, 2004, is an extension of the Delhi Region of CWC. The Warehouses under Delhi region are mainly handling industrial goods, food-grain stocks in storage in geographical area of Delhi, Ghaziabad, Sahibabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad, i.e. in NCR. Various features of this ICD are a total plot area of 25.38 acres; covered area of 7,242 sq. mtrs, and a Load container yard, measuring 19,920 sq. mtrs. Besides, the ICD, there are other players like Star Track Terminals, Albatross, CMACGA and Trident Terminals, which have also started their ICDs on the leased land, within a distance of nearly 1/2 km. from CONCOR-ICD, as the feeder ICDs for CONCOR rail-link ICD. All these ICDs altogether had affected the business of ICD, Surajpur, on account of their locational advantage and lower transportation cost and traffic handling cost, because of comparatively lesser moves in comparison to ICD, Surajpur (Greater Noida). There was a great demand of general warehousing space by the trade. In order to cater to their requirement of general warehousing space, a decision had been taken to convert a part of ICD area into a general warehouse, for a better utilization of infrastructure on commercial lines, with adequate viabilities.
Inland Container Depot (CONCOR), Dadri, Greater Noida 3.41 ICD, Dadri, the flagship Depot of North Central Region commenced its operations in January, 2004. The terminal is designed to handle one million TEUs per annum and, capacity wise, the biggest Container Terminal in Asia. It constitutes a major landmark in the development of containerization in the country. 3.42 The Northern hinterland accounts for the largest volume of containerised cargo for both export and import traffic. Market research has consistently projected a growth of 15% to 20% in the volume of containerized traffic in the northern hinterland, based on which CONCOR, as far back as 1996, hacf planned this mega terminal, designed to cater to the growing demands in this area. 3.43 This terminal is located at Dadri, Greater Noida, U.P., in the vicinity of Delhi (approx. 45 km) and covers the catchment area of Western UP, the Terai, parts of Haryana and Delhi. It is a new state- of-art ICD, covering a vast area of 110 hectares. The first developmental phase already completed, has created a handling capacity of 0.5 million TEUs per annum. The ultimate capacity development provides for a handling of one million TEUs per annum. It has an excellent rail linkage through Dadri Railway Station on the arterial freight corridor of Delhi-Howrah route, forming a part of the Golden Quadrilateral of the Indian Railways. Dadri has also been provided a link to both the proposed 27
Dedicated Freight Corridors (Eastern and Western) of Indian Railways. During interaction with the traders at the ICD, it was brought to the notice of the Sub Committee that the approach road to the ICD was very narrow and affected the business at the ICD. There was an urgent need to construct an over-bridge for smooth flow of traffic, for which the UP. Government had yet to acquire the land. The Department of Commerce should coordinate with the Government of U.P. so as to expedite the construction work.
ICD, Dhandari Kalan, Ludhiana 3.44 This flagship Depot of Northern region commenced its operations in March, 1990, just as a Rail transfer facility. It has achieved many milestones since its inception. It is situated on the main line on Jammu-Amritsar-Delhi route, located next to Ludhiana Station. ICD-DDL is spread in an area of 3,507 acres and is contiguous with the DOL Railway Station yard. Ludhiana has its name in Punjab and whole of India, due to large number of cottage and small scale woolen industries of Hosiery, and is also rightly known as “The Manchester of India”. This city is ideally located in the middle of the State, conveniently approachable from the industries spread all over the State. Therefore, ICD, Dhandarikalan acts as a Hub Centre. The ICD caters to the other neighbouring States of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Rajasthan. 3.45 The ICD has modern infrastructure, 90% of the area is paved with concrete block flooring, using latest technology. There is a modern warehouse, both for export and import handling of cargo, with an area of 3,000 sq. mts. Another warehouse, measuring 2,000 sq. mts., is being utilized for Less than Container Load (LCL) consolidation. The terminal has the facility of customs clearance of export and import cargo and storage of customs cleared cargo. 3.46 There are more than 800 exporters and as many as 300 importers, using CONCOR facility in a big way. The CFS of the terminal has also been notified by Customs for clearance of Air Cargo to/from CFS to Amritsar, Airport.
Container Freight Station, Ludhiana 3.47 Punjab State Warehousing Corporation set up its first Container Freight Station (CFS) in Focal Point Ludhiana, to handle Export – Import containerized cargo and was commissioned on 9th March, 1990. To meet the demand of the trade and industry, handling of Import cargo was started in June, 1990, for the first time. The receipt of Export cargo, Custom Examination, stuffing of Export containers and de-stuffing of Import cargo takes place at CFS Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, (PSWC), whereas lCD, Dhandari Kalan (CONCOR) handles the movement of containers by Railway flats. PSWC also introduced the movement of Export Loaded Containers by road to Port of Exit BPTC/JNPT/NSICT, Kandla and Mundra, to reduce the transit time and movement of containers, without waiting for the formation of full train load. The handling and transportation of Export Air Cargo from CFS Ludhiana through Customs Bonded trucking was also started. lCD, Babarpur, Panipat 3.48 The lCD, Panipat, situated at village Baholi, covers an area of 6.75 acres. The shed has three bays for loading the cargo and has three entry points for off-loading the loads for export. The work at ICD at present relates to export only, for both drawback and non-drawback. The major export items from ICD Panipat are cotton durries, woollen carpets and made ups. The main destinations are Europe, USA, UK and Australia. This ICD had drawback facility only till 17th May, 2006. At present, export for only Drawback entitlement is being held by this port. No Import or DEPB consignment is being dealt by this port till, date due to lack of basic infrastructure. M/s Container Corporation of India, who is the custodian of lCD, has been requested many a time to provide the infrastructure to start Import, but nothing has been done by it in this regard. The ICD requires a lot of basic 28 infrastructure viz., separate godown for import cargo; installation of container scanner for scanning the import cargo; separate paved area for examination of import cargo, covered with boundary wall, which has not been constructed till date; separate space for hazardous cargo, etc; weigh bridge is one of the most essential items, which is required for proper assessment of import cargo; handling equipments, i.e. crane, forklifts, etc; one separate room for Assistant Commissioner; the entire area is required to be covered with boundary wall for safety and security of intended import cargo; mutilation machine for mutilation of rags; and three rooms for installation of proposed EDlsystem at the ICD.
ICD, Patparganj, Delhi (CWC) 3.49 ICD, Patparganj is the first Dry Port/Container Freight Station, set up in February, 1985, which was, later on, re-designated as an Inland Container Deport (ICD) in April, 1995. It caters to the transportation of containers (to and fro) to various gateway Ports like JNP, Mundra, Mumbai, Kandla, etc., by rail and road. It also started container movements by rail from January, 2007 from ICD, Loni. The ICD has a total land area of 53,533 sq. mts; an open yard of 9779 sq. mts; covered area of 19,026 sq. mts; import and exports sheds in an area of 6,406 sq. mts and 12,620 sq. mts, respectively; two reach stackers of 45 MT; two heavy duty mobile cranes of 25 MT; 19 forklifts of various capacities; and 35 tractor trailers. The ICD has reached its saturation point in terms of capacity, and there was an urgent requirement of more space at the ICD.
ICD, Tughlakabad, New Delhi (CONCOR) 3.50 ICD, Tughlakabad, the flagship Depot of Northern Region of CONCOR, commenced its operations in September, 1993. It is the biggest EXIM Container Terminal in North India and is developed on 55 hectares of land. It has the new state-of-art equipment and facilities, coupled with excellent Rail Linkage to the gateway ports, being on the arterial trunk corridor of Delhi – Mumbai route, forming a part of the Golden Quadrilateral of Indian Railways. Through introduction of various innovative steps and development of new equipment, the dwell time of containers has reduced substantially, leading to increase in capacity. Major commodities of export routed through the ICD include rice, cotton yarn, cotton madeups, auto parts, readymade garments, utensils, pipes, handicraft items, slate stones and tractors. The commodities of import include general cargo, furniture, paper, rubber process oil, paper, machinery parts, printing papers, waste paper, PVC resin and chemicals. The ICD has reached to its full capacity and there was a severe crunch of space.
Land Customs Station, Sherathang, Nathu La Border (Gangtok) 3.51 Sherathang LCS, at an altitude of 13,500 ft. from mean sea level, was located in East District of Sikkim, and was at a distance of 49 Kms. from Gangtok. The biggest advantage of Nathu la was its great geographical location and there was no other route connecting India and China and, as such, Sikkim was bound to become an International trade hub. The LCS had temporary type of structures, made up of wooden boards, protected by walls and roofs of GI sheets. The following issues were raised at Nathu la:— (i) Permission for exclusive trading rights to traders in Sikkim for the first five years so that they could gain experience and expertise over a period of time, before this border trade became normal international trade. (ii) Due to lack of export incentives and absence of Government support, traders from Sikkim were finding it difficult to participate in the border trade. (iii) Initially, 100 items might be allowed to be traded which would boost the trade volume, making it a viable business proposition at Nathu la. 29
(iv) Alternatively, a better way could be to draw a negative list and the balance items might be allowed free for trade with normal duty restrictions, moving away from the confines of a border trade. (v) The Infrastructure from Siliguri to Nathu la, needed to be strengthened, which comprised widening and reducing the length of the road, by developing more tunnels and bridges; creation of a modern and permanent Sherathang Mart to encompass all the facilities of trade transit under one roof, to ease the trading formalities.
Land Customs Station, Moreh (Imphal) 3.52 Manipur, one of the States of the North Eastern region, with an area of 22,327 sq. kms, having 352 kms long international border with Myanmar to South East, was a land-locked State, connected with the rest of the country through (i) NH-39, (ii) NH-53, and NH-150, having Railway facililty of only 1.5. Km at Jiribam. The nearest cities from Imphal by air were Guwahati and Kolkata, but there was no inland water ways. 3.53 The exporters at Imphal requested for assistance, to increase Myanmar-origin importable items under Barter mechanism, without restriction. On import side, the teak furniture should be allowed to be imported through LCS, Moreh under barter mechanism; Minor Forest products – Herbal medicinal roots like Sarpentina (Sarpaganda roots) and Kuth be allowed to be imported without objection of Forest Department; third country goods, particularly of ASEAN countries; should be allowed to be imported though LCS Moreh at duty concession rate under Barter Mechanism. With regard to export, the items like Bi-cycle and its parts; cotton yarn; stainless steel utensils; menthol; pan masala; red and white sandal woods; salts; sanitary and hardware items; iron steel rods; medicines; cotton lungies; cosmetics; chemicals; animal skins and hides; Indian motor cycles; electricals; maida; cement and sewing and embroidery machines, etc. 3.54 The Sub Committee were informed that huge quantities of various items were being exported illegally through Moreh. Some suggestions were also placed before the Sub Committee, such as:— (i) To promote Indo-Myanmar bilateral trade, Indo-Myanmar border trade fairs may be organised in both the border towns i.e. Moreh in Indian Side and Tamu in Myanmar side on alternate years; (ii) Myanmarese should be allowed to visit North East through the Moreh land-route, without restriction, like India and Nepal; (iii) Myanmarese should be given seat quota and be provided with opportunity to study for Higher Education in Manipur J.N University and in Regional Institute of Medical Science, Imphal for Medical education; (iv) Myanmarese patients be treated at J.N Hospital or RIMS Hospital, Imphal without restriction, and on the simplest official formalities for their entrance into Imphal through Moreh; and (v) Businessmen from North East should be allowed to visit upto Mandalay in Myanmar through Moreh land route for market survey, with simple official formalities.
Land Customs Station, Agartala (Indo–Bangladesh Border) 3.55 The Land Customs Station at Agartala is located at the extreme West of Nazrul Sarani, 200 meters inside from Indo-Bangladesh Border. The office is accommodated in the newly constructed Integrated Development Complex. Major items of import are stone chips, fruit juice, synthetic drink, hilsa fish, small fish, soyabean oil, potato chips, jute rope, cement, lay flat tube, furniture, tiles, other 30 waste of wool, crusher machine, household articles of plastic, PVC pipes and tubes, other non-knitted articles of synthetic fibre, mattress of cellular rubber, etc. The items of exports from this LCS are dry fish, dry chilli, bamboo (Muli) etc. Some important initiative at the LCS were starting of Dhaka– Agartala Bus Service; Entry of Bangladesh vehicles carrying bulk import goods, either in loose or palletized forms inside the Indian Territory; and Installation of Electronic Weigh Bridge. Huge quantities of various items were being exported illegally through Agartala. The LCS lacks the basic infrastructure to meet the growing trend of trade. There are no proper roads, either on the Indian side or on the Bangladesh side, which, during rainy season, further create a lot of hardships for the traders. Adequate arrangement for proper electrification was not there and the entire area of the LCS, after sun set, is in darkness. The situation becomes grim during the winter season, when the days are shorter. Further, there are no warehouses either private or public. Thus, the infrastructure conditions at the LCS were extremely poor.
Majerhat Terminal, Kolkata 3.56 The combined (both EXIM and Domestic) rail handling terminal at Majerhat in Kolkata was opened in June, 2005 near the Coal Dock Road in Kolkata Port’s land, following closure of the erstwhile Cossipore ICD near Chitpur in Kolkata. The new location in Kolkata Port territory offered the distinct advantage of extensive area for laying full length rail lines, rake examination facilities, yard illumination, adequate container parking space, container repair and wagon repair zones, administrative office, vehicle circulating area, and most importantly, proximity to the Port not only gave the distinct advantage of turning around rakes to and from the Netaji Subhash Docks of KoPT at faster pace, but also helped in reducing road bridging operations and ultimately costs to the trade by way of reduced leads. The terminal had been developed over an area of 85,500 sq. mts of land, leased to CONCOR by Kolkata Port Trust. The infrastructure facilities available at the terminal were Rail Sidings (two full length lines each of 640 mts); Sick wagon repair lines (two spurs of five wagons capacity each); Equipment (One Reach Stacker of 45 mt. capacity); one empty forklift of 10t capacity; 26 trailers for door to door services; paved surface area of 31,081 sq. mts; Container repair zone (200 sq. mts); Railway carriage and wagon examination gang for rakes; and Illumination through seven high mast tower lights. 3.57 The terminal serves Kolkata, Haldia, Durgapur, Asansol and Kharagpur in West Bengal, and Kalinganagar in Orissa, in terms of catchment area. With regard to connectivity, the terminal not only has the regular services through the rail linkages for EXIM traffic to ICD Amingaon, ICD Birgunj (Nepal) and ICD Tughlakabad, it entertains demand-based services also to other lCD’s and gateway ports like JNPT and Vizag. As and when demanded, the terminal provides door-to-door road services to various locations, including Haldia, Durgapur and Jamshedpur. The CONCOR traffic, both for domestic and EXIM segment, had grown substantially. 3.58 There was a great potential for further growth of trade, both domestic and export through the Terminal, provided the Government, through a long term vision, came forward in this regard. The Majerhat Terminal could be upgraded to an lCD, keeping in view the growth in EXIM container traffic at Kolkata port.
Land Customs Station, Attari Rail 3.59 The ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘0’ alongwith respective adjoining railway tracks, macadamized roads, etc., at the Amritsar Railway Station, which was declared as Land Customs Station by Government of India in 1965, were declared as Customs Area for loading/unloading and storage of export/import cargo by Rail to/from Lahore in Pakistan by Amritsar – Attari – Lahore railway route in 1996. The examination of the railway rakes loaded with bulk export goods, such as Soyabean meal, etc., is undertaken at MTR/Ghora line. The Indian Railways is the Custodian of the import/export goods. 31
Major items of exports include S.O dyes, vegetable seeds, soyabean meals, crude Drugs, tubes and tyres. Items of import commodities include dry date, rock salt, crude drug and cement. The LCS, in terms of infrastructure, has an office of Customs Rail Cargo, situated adjacent to Amritsar Railway Station on Gole Bagh side, adjoining Northern Railway Goods Shed ‘A’; container/mobile scanner, x-ray machines, metal detectors, CCTV, sniffer dogs, generator sets; and two x-ray machines of obsolete models and out of order since long, installed in one each of the sheds ‘A’ and ‘B’. The office building is insufficient in space and needs to be upgraded and well furnished. The only Shed known as ‘0’ Shed, which was burnt out more than four years back, has not been re-constructed and made operational till date. Besides, the railway authorities had been requested a number of times for extension of the platform and to notify it for import – export only. Apart from this, condition of the roads in the Rail Cargo Complex was in very bad shape/broken and contained big pot-holes that adversely affected the cargo transportation due to frequent traffic jams.
Land Customs Station, Attari Road 3.60 The LCS, Attari Road, Amritsar is located on Indian side of the border, and caters to the passengers and cargo traffic between India and Pakistan. The LCS handles export of six commodities initially allowed by Pakistan through this route viz., tomato, potato, onion, garlic, livestock and buffalo meat. Subsequently, export of cotton and maize was also allowed. There was no import from Pakistan through this route, though import of dry and fresh fruit from Afghanistan via Pakistan was being effected through this LCS. To obviate any problem and for facilitation, hotline facility has been established between Customs authorities of India and Pakistan at the border. In the matter of infrastructure, the there was a requirement of a truck scanner, to scan the cargo, including the perishable items, being imported through trucks at the border; high energy x-ray machine; animal quarantine facility; weigh bridge, warehouses; banks facilities and cranes and forklifts.
TOWNS OF EXPORT EXCELLENCE (TEE) Tirupur (Tamil Nadu) 3.61 During the course of deliberations with the Sub Committee, various exporters submitted that while there were able to maintain their export growth above 15% consecutively for two years, the appreciation of rupee against dollar by 14% had totally dampened their spirits. Due to this, 8,000 workers in various export knitwear units of Tirupur had lost their jobs. The imposition of Fringe Benefit Tax on sales promotion expenses, including publicity, tours and travels, boarding and lodging and free samples, had seriously affected the Indian Exports. Accordingly, Fringe Benefit Tax on all expenses related to exports should be exempted. 3.62 With regard to Service Tax for all the services being charged at 12.36%, the exporters could not export taxes. All the services should be exempted from payment of service tax, including the service tax for rented buildings. The exporters had to incur the cost while going for hedging, thereby creating an extra burden on them. They should be compensated the hedging cost. Alternatively, the dual exchange rate could be introduced, by which Rs. 42 per dollar can be fixed for exporters for one year. 3.63 Apart from the above, they requested for compensation @ 3% against the State Levies, such as octroi, other State taxes and transaction cost. The labour laws in India were quite inflexible and rigid. There was an urgent need to accelerate the Labour Law reforms since, the existing rules and regulations are constraints to the overall growth of the Textile industry. 3.64 The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in all districts across the country, under which a person is given guaranteed employment for 100 days, with pay @ Rs. 60/- per day, to the garment sector also, (which is seasonal business) on the conditions of 280 days employment with a 32 salary @ Rs. 70/- per day, which is Rs 10/- more than the Government’s scheme, so that Government doesn’t have to spend any money, once the scheme is extended to the garment sector. They would give a guarantee letter to the District Collector that they will employ minimum 50 workers (maximum can be any number), comprising 50% women workers from rural areas, which would entail employment to six million people in the garment sector, thereby subscribing to the Government’s vision of creating more jobs in the country. Besides this, the working hours should be enhanced from existing 48 to 60 hours, with necessary increment in wages, so as to meet the compliance sought by the foreign buyers. The textile mills were facing the problem relating to discharge of dye effluent and they sought the help of the Sub Committee for implementation of Marine Discharge Project as a permanent solution. The Ministry of Textiles had envisaged the scheme “Policy Resolution for Textile Infrastructure Development Fund and Textile Territorial Investment and production Complex”. The exporters should be extended help under the said scheme by way of a grant of 50% of the project cost i.e. Rs. 500 crore. For development and promotion of exports in Tirupur, the construction of budget houses for workers, installation of a separate dedicated power station, widening of roads from Tirupur to various other destinations should be considered.
Aroor (comprising Aroor, Ezhupunna, Kodamthuruthu and Kuthiathode in Kerala) 3.65 The cities of Aroor, Ezhupunna, Kodamthuruthu and Kuthiathode of Pattanakkad Block Panchayat in Cherthala Taluk of Alappuzha district, notified as the Towns of Export Excellence under Special Economic Zone for fish processing units, were facing serious issues of deterioration of environmental and socio-economic conditions, due to lack of appropriate waste disposal facilities; overcrowding of peeling sheds; lack of sufficient safe drinking water supply; un-hygienic and improper living conditions; air and water pollution; improper and inadequate garbage collection and disposal systems, etc., and required urgent interventions, so as to keep up the environmental quality. However, the limitations/ obstacles in terms of inadequate infrastructure facilities; unavailability of sufficient financial support; lack of awareness among the public; incapability of the available organizational set-up to fully utilize the technical competence, etc., were also felt, and to overcome the same with a view to implement eco-development objectives, custom made non – conventional solutions for application in these places and small towns were envisaged under the concept of Eco Village.
Kallam (Kerala) 3.66 Kollam in Kerala was the nerve center of cashew industry in India. It had been honoured with the status of “Town of Export Excellence” for Cashew 2006. Almost 80% of the cashew processing and exporting units in India were located in or owned by the processors in and around the Kollam area. Cashew Industry was the most important among the traditional industries in Kerala. 75% of the processing of Cashew kernels was being done in Kerala. There were 648 cashew processing factories and 150 filling and packing units. Out of this, 637 factories were located in Kollam and surrounding districts of Thruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, and Alappuzha. Among them, 30 were owned by the Public Sector “Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation”, and 10 by the Kerala State Cashew Workers Apex Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd., (CAPEX), Kerala State Agency for Expansion of Cashew Cultivation (KSACC) and the Cashew Special Officer had their offices in Kollam District. 3.67 The cashew industry in Kerala was facing a major problem due to the shortage of raw cashew nuts. The State has to depend on import of raw cashew nuts for running the industry. In order to overcome the above problem, the Government of Kerala had set up an agency by the name “Kerala State Agency for Cashew Cultivation” (KSACC), exclusively for the purpose of expanding the area of cashew cultivation. The agency was in the process of identifying vacant lands, where large-scale cultivation of Cashew could be undertaken. The main hurdle in this regard was the shortage of sufficient funds. The Government of India had taken a decision to provide financial assistance for Cashew cultivation through the Horticultural mission. 33
3.68 Vietnam, our major supplier of raw cashew nuts a few years back, had come up in a very big way, competing with India in the world market for number one position. Their major advantages were high yielding domestic production and availability of raw material at cheaper prices, low labour and production cost, recently-built factories with new technology, etc., which made their product cheaper in the world market. They were also competing with us in sourcing the raw cashew nuts from other producing countries. 3.69 Due to stiff competition form other producing, processing and exporting countries like Vietnam, Brazil, etc., high production cost, low international prices, appreciation of Indian Rupee, low export incentives, etc. the cashew processing and exporting industry in India was now in a deep crisis. The Government of India should come up to help survive the industry.
Alleppey 3.70 Alleppey, due to its labyrinth of canals, and narrow waterways, has been well- known to the outside world as “Venice of the East”. It is the bastion of the Coir Industry, with the first of its mechanized units having been established by British factors, who came to India to trade, and establish commercial relationship. It is one of the best planned Towns in India. Alleppey was declared as Town of Export Excellence on 31st May, 2006. It is Town of Export Excellence by virtue of the fact that it has an annual turnover of Rs. 250 crore, because it is an agro sector. In Alleppey, where the Coir Industry was set up in 1857, there are around 250 manufacturing units of various sizes, capacity, investment, most of them being export-oriented, supported by a strong supply chain. But most of the supply chain (Service providers), happened to be in the un-organised sector. 50% of the export production was being out-sourced. 3.71 The State Government, largely, shied away from supporting the Export related industries, due to the reason that export was a Central Subject, no Revenue recurred to it and hence, exports got secondary importance. With regard to water jetty and ICD at Alleppey, the following issues were raised:— (i) Water front land not available at Alleppey. (ii) Free-hold Government land to the extent of five acre also not available to set up the ICD. Exorbitant cost made the purchase of land prohibitive. (iii) Transportation of Cargo through Rail (Concor) was not viable, as empty cargo was charged Rs. 5,000/- per container by the Railways. (iv) There was not sufficient wharf to take the cargo of (20') 25,000 kgs. and (40') 30,000 kgs. There was a need for further dredging, which was not possible because of the cost factor. (v) The Unit value realization of Coir products was very low, a higher percentage of 1% on transportation costs was very heavy. 34
CHAPTER-IV
Observations and Recommendations
4.1 In order to boost export volumes, the Government needs to facilitate transport/logistic support and resolve problems experienced by the trading community in the carriage of goods by courier, sea, air, rail and road, in coordination with the concerned Ministries and Departments. It can be done through greater containerization, computerization of cargo clearance and electronic data interchange, warehousing, setting up of air cargo complexes, inland container depots, container freight stations, etc. The recommendations/observations made by the Committee are given in the succeeding paras.
Airports 4.2 The Committee noted that there had been a spurt in export of agro-products like vegetables, fruits and flowers through Kolkata airport. Agri-products were also coming from the north-eastern Sates, with destinations outside the country. The cold storage facilities available at present for perishable commodities at the Kolkata airport were neither adequate nor proper. The airports also need movement of aircraft, with adequate facilities of freezing tank, failing which the dispatched perishable goods were liable to become unusable when the same reach the destination, due to which the exporters had to route their cargo through other airports, at extra cost. The Committee recommend that the Government should provide the facilities to pick up agri-products coming from the north-eastern region through domestic airlines, without involving a third party handling form domestic cargo shed to international cargo shed, involving extra cost and time. Direct booking of cargo by air for export may be allowed from the distant domestic airports in north- eastern region. 4.3 The Air Cargo Complex at Ahmedabad is facing problems related to warehousing space and dedicated cold storage for perishable commodities. 4.4 Air Cargo Agents Association (ACCAI), Bangaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) and Bangaluru Customs House Agents’ Association (BCHAAL), had requested for provision of a State of the Art Cargo Village within the BIAL Complex, to house the Forwarders and CHAs (Customs House Agents). The Complex must be fully equipped with modern warehouse and related facilities, besides adequate office space, for efficient and timely functioning of the cargo handlers for the overall benefit of the EXIM trade. 4.5 The exporters at various Airprots like Amritsar, Coimbatore and Cochin had been facing problems due to the non-availability of x-ray facility, used for screening of export goods by Airlines Security, and equipments for loading and unloading of heavy cargo. The Sub Committee during their visit to various places across the country, had also observed many shortcomings such as inadequate cold storage facilities, inadequate space for warehousing in Air Cargo Complexes, and absence of State-of-the-Art technology viz., x-ray machines for screening of cargos. The Committee, therefore, recommend that the Government should formulate a policy so as to facilitate provision of basic infrastructure facilities for exports, including incentives for promotion of exports of the country at various Airports, Ports, ICDs and LCSs across the country, which areas seem to have remained neglected by the Government and other agencies. 4.6 The Committee were informed that a Committee on Infrastructure under the Ministry of Civil Aviation had taken an ambitious project of modernization of 35 non - metro airports and had entrusted
34 35 the Airports Authority of India to undertake the airside work, including construction of terminal buildings. The work on most of these airports had been taken up while the work at Agra airport (Civil Enclave) had been completed and major works at seven other airports viz., Agatti, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Jaipur, Nagpur, Trichy and Udaipur were at the completion stage. The expected schedule for completion of the terminal buildings and the associated air side works in respect of 24 airports was end of March, 2009, whereas the remaining 11 airports would be completed by end of March, 2010. City side development of 24 select non - metro airports would be taken through PPP. Appreciating the initiatives being taken by the Government, the Committee recommend that while taking up development of various airports, the Government should keep in view the fact that the general public is not subjected to any hardships/hazards in terms of noise or environment pollution. At the same time, it should also take into consideration the viability of the domestic as well as the Exim trade at each of these airports, their connectivity through rail, air and road, and extend all such infrastructure facilities, as are necessary for both types of trade.
4.7 The Committee note that notwithstanding the measures being taken for smooth functioning of the cargo terminals, much more was needed to be done for ensuring proper functioning of the terminals viz., relaxation of access for cargo carrying vehicles to and from the Airports (intra/inter city), to facilitate the cargo trade; constitution of a team of all stakeholders namely Airport Operators, Airlines, Customers and Trade representatives, to jointly study the leading airports and suggest improvements to benchmark with international standards; and encouragement for building up Unit concept for cargo handling, in line with internationally best practices, which will reduce the processing time; reduce the landing charges for cargo flights to incentivise exports of India; and provide suitable space under the concept of Cargo Village for stake holders at the airports. The Committee are of the view that reduction in landing charges will facilitate the airlines to consider India for Cargo Hub, which was totally missing, as most of the major Hubs in the world had maximum transit tonnage from other international airports. The Committee recommend that the Government, while formulating its policies for infrastructure and facilities at various cargo export centres, should not only coordinate with various stake-holders and introduce and implement the same in such a way that it takes care of both the Government as well as various stake-holders. At the same time, the Government should study various aspects of introducing the concept of Cargo Village at each airport as it would tend to improve the functioning of the cargo system at the airports.
4.8 Guwahati is a big business hub in the North East. Though there is an international airport, yet it seems to have been overlooked in terms of infrastructure that matches the international standards. Due to lack of proper focus and promotional policies on the part of the Government, people of the area had been deprived of the facility to move to international destinations, to sell out their products. The Committee recommend that the Government should come forward with a long term mechanism so as to provide proper infrastructure facilities of international standards at the airports, especially at the Guwahati International Airport, to boost the trade and exports.
Ports
4.9 During the course of visits to various major ports across the country, the Sub-Committee could observe various problems common to each of the ports, like the problems of congestion; technology, equipments and connectivity with rail, road, air, etc. 4.10 At JNPT, Mumbai, there was an immense problem of congestion in handling and clearance of containers, which was a common feature at all the ports, airports and also at various ICDs and LCSs. The Committee, therefore, recommend that dwell time in cargo clearance should be reduced, by simplifying customs procedures, and by similar other measures. Freight handling charges should be reduced to make it globally competitive. 36
4.11 The Committee note that the EDI was not fully operational at many ports. The Committee recommend that the EDI system should be made fully operational, as early as possible, so as to facilitate electronic clearance of export and import containers, thus saving the dwell time in cargo clearance.
Inland Water Transport 4.12 The Committee feel that inadequate infrastructural facilities such as depth and width required for movement of IWT vessels for round the year operation, terminals for loading and unloading of cargo, navigational aids for safe and unhindered navigation during day and might and IWT fleet for carriage of cargo and passengers are the major constraints facing the inland waterways sector. The Committee recommend that in order to achieve substantial step up in Inland Water Transport (IWT) traffic, the Government should focus its thrust on creation of infrastructure. As the Inland Water Transport (IWT) has substantial share in inland transport network, the Government should take steps for augmentation of IWT fleet. 4.13 The River Brahmaputra, for which the Government had allocated an amount of Rs. 270 crore to develop it into a better navigational system, could be used effectively for commercial purposes, so as to get closer to the Bay of “Bengal, which in turn could help the people reach international destinations. The Government should take steps to introduce sophisticated navigation system in the River Brahmputra for promotion of exports, so as to generate revenue and to provide employment, particularly for the people of the North-East.
Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and land Customs Stations (lCSs) 4.14 The Sub Committee observed that the staff posted at various Customs establishments, especially in the inclement positions on Nepal, Bangladesh borders, and also on Kuchchh side, had not been provided the requisite basic minimum facilities of accommodation, schooling for their kids, transportation, communication network and medical centres. The Committee recommend that the Government should take immediate steps to provide facilities of accommodation, schooling for the kids, transportation, communication network, medical centres, etc., to the staff, so as to increase their efficiency and transparency in the systems. 4.15 The ICD at Amingaon was the only one serving the entire North-Eastern Region. In terms of location, the ICD was at a dis-advantageous position, as the nearest sea port Kolkata was at a distance of 1,100 kilometers. The primary item of export was tea. There was hardly any import, and the exporters had to pay even for bringing empty containers from Kolkata to load their exports. The Committee recommend that there is a need for extension of 6% concession on rail freight given by the Railways for full rake movements from in and out of the North East, to cover export rakes from ICD, Amingaon, being operated by CONCOR. lCD, Whitefield, Bangaluru 4.16 During its visit to ICD at Whitefield in Bangaluru, the Committee observed that despite all out efforts by the concerned authorities to improve the standards of infrastructure to help the traders, there were certain bottlenecks, particularly in terms of connectivity, absence of proper rail connection to Cochin Port, Tuticorin Port, etc. Chennai (Madras Port) was the only source for lCD, Bangaluru. The handling charges compared to private CFS and CWC were higher and the Container road movement charges from out of the ICD to any port was about twice the market price (Container Corporation of India); the CFS did not have proper lighting system. There were no proper facilities for storage (most of the packages stored beyond three days are full of bird droppings, accumulation of dust on packages). The waiting period for getting container/closed body trucks ranged from two to three days, resulting in delay in shipping of the goods. For the full import container from Chennai 37 to Bangaluru ICD, it took five to six days. If the goods were to come on LCL (Less Container Load), it took around 12 days. These goods/raw materials, meant for export production and, because of the delays in getting the imported materials, exporters were facing difficulty to keep up their delivery schedules in addition to the locking of their capital, etc. Bad handling in CFS was also noticed. Most of the packages get damaged due to the careless handling at the time of loading/unloading. The Committee observe that while on one hand the Government claimed upgrading various infrastructure facilities, on the other hand, it seemed to have shut eyes in respect of the customer satisfaction and promotion of exports. The Committee, therefore, recommend that the Government should have frequent interactions, not only with the concerned Central and State agencies, but also with the traders and exporters. The trading community was contributing immensely towards generation of revenue, including the foreign exchange, for the Government. The Government should shun its policy of infinite slumber and aloofness, and pay heed to the problems of the traders in a positive manner, to help boost the exports of the country.
LCSs at Indo-Nepal Border 4.17 There were about 12 Land Customs Stations at the Indo-Nepal Border. These are Raxaul, Jogbani, Galgalia, Bhimnagar, Sonbarsa, Bhitamore, Bairgania, Panitanki, Pasupatigate, Sonauli, Gauripantha and Banbasa. There is a brisk trade from these Land Customs Stations. But, civic facilities like official building, hospitals, schools, housing accommodation, communications, roads, power supply, etc., are extremely lacking there. Due to absence of these basic facilities, the employees posted there are unable to render their optimum services for the growth of export/import. The Committee, therefore, recommend that all the basic facilities should be immediately provided at the above LCSs.
Land Customs Station, Moreh, Imphal 4.18 The traders at the LCS, Moreh face problems on account of transportation from Moreh to outside the State of Manipur. There had been a persistent demand for establishment of an Inland Container Depot upto Land Customs Station, Moreh, to reduce the transportation cost from Moreh to outside the State of Manipur. The Committee recommend that the Government should study the feasibility of establishing an ICD at Moreh, an important trading and strategic point, due to its being on the international border, which has also got the huge potential for exim trade, and provide all requisite infrastructure facilities, including the incentives available under various schemes, to boost the export trade of the country.
LCS, Agartala 4.19 The Sub-Committee were informed that huge quantities of various items were being exported illegally through Agartala. The LCS lacks the basic infrastructure to meet the growing volume of trade. There were no proper roads, either on the Indian side or on the Bangladesh side, which, during rainy seasons, further created a lot of hardships for the traders. Adequate arrangements for electrification were not there and the entire area of the LCS, after sun set, was drenched in darkness. The situation was grim during winter seasons, when the days were shorter. Further, there were no warehouses in the LCS, either private or public, the non-availability of which posed a lot of hardships for the traders. In all, the infrastructure conditions at the LCS were extremely poor. The Committee, therefore, recommend that the Government should take stock of the prevailing grim situation at the LCS at Agartala and render all possible assistance, to improve the same, on priority basis.
CONCOR, Kolkata 4.20 The Committee note that rail borne import container traffic, which averaged at 1174 TEUs per month during 2007- 08, as against the average of about 894 TEUs in 2006-07 for Nepal, has been 38 growing steadily at the Kolkata Docks. The only other significant” rail borne container traffic via Kolkata Port was the tea exports from Amingaon, which was about 2500 TEUs per annum. In domestic segment, main outward traffic handled at the terminal is steel products, jute and Vanaspati. There was a substantial increase in the Year-wise domestic cargo handled at the terminal and the CONCOR traffic, both for domestic and EXIM segment, had grown substantially. There was a great potential for further growth of the trade, both domestic and export, through the Terminal, provided the Government, through a long term vision, came forward in this regard. The Committee recommend that the Government should study the growth aspects of the terminal and take all the necessary steps, to upgrade it as an Inland Container Depot, in order to boost the trade. It should also envisage a long term policy, whereby the requisite infrastructure facilities like EDI, bonded warehouses, improved transportation connectivity, etc. may be well planned, for promotion of exports. 4.21 During the course of deliberations with different stake-holders on the matter of infrastructural facilities, the Sub Committee was informed that there was a serious lack of coordination among different agencies and departments, due to their fragmented approach. Since they were responsible for promotional aspects of exports at airports, ports, ICDs and LCSs in the country, there was an urgent need for inter-ministerial and inter-state dialogues. The Committee recommend that the Government should work in a pro-active manner alongwith the concerned Central Ministries and State Government Departments, and draw up a roadmap for infrastructural development for promotion of exports, covering all the important parts of the country, that have the exports potential. 4.22 The Committee observe that the problems, with which all the establishments are confronted with, are almost common, as these pertain to export infrastructure. When it comes to infrastructure, it means there should be some minimum level of infrastructure, which the Government is supposed to provide to various stake-holders. The Government should evolve a policy, under which the term “infrastructure” implies the minimum infrastructure comprising adequate space for warehouses, stake-holders’ office and for handling of cargos (loading/unloading); easy and proper road connectivity (good condition), rail and air connectivity for smooth transportation of cargos; latest technology like EDI, for speedy communication between the concerned authorities and the customers for faster disposal of cargos; proper electrification in and around the establishments; various types of sophisticated equipments, including the security gadgets, etc., as per the requirement of these establishments; provisions for renovation/upgradation of the existing establishments; export incentives to traders; and funding, wherever required, under various Schemes, with a view to boost the country’s trade. 4.23 The Committee observe that the matter of upgradation of infrastructure falls under the purview of Ministry of Urban Development. While taking up the matter of upgradation of export infrastructure, the Committee desires that the Department of Commerce should also have a closer interaction with the Ministry of Urban Development for provision of better infrastructural facilities in and around all establishments that are involved in various types of exports from the country. Towns of Export Excellence 4.24 The Committee during its visit to Tirupur, Alleppey, and Aroor observed that the immediate issues to be addressed for increasing exports from the Towns of Export Excellence were proper disposal of dye effluent from Textile Mills, frequent power failures, common effluent treatment plants for seafood industries, and poor conditions of roads, that increased the transit time taken to reach the ports. The entire funding for the Towns of Export Excellence presently came from Assistance to States for Infrastructure Development of Exports (ASIDE) Scheme, and 80% of the funding under that Scheme was through the State Governments. The funds available under this Scheme were very meager. The Committee, therefore, recommend that funds may be earmarked separately to cater to the needs of the Towns of Export Excellence so as to fill in critical gaps in 39 infrastructure like connection of export hubs with National Highways/Waterways, taking care of the power needs of the Towns of Export Excellence by setting up small power plants, setting up of Common Warehouses for display of products of the entire clusters. This separate outlay should be distributed among various TEEs, based on the projects taken at hand by them. The Committee also recommend that common effluent treatment plants for sea food industries may be set up in places like Alleppy with contribution from the various stake holders.
4.25 Kollam was the nerve centre of cashew industry in India and was bestowed with the status of Town of Export Excellence for cashew in 2006. However, countries like Vietnam, Brazil, etc., due to their high yielding domestic production, availability of raw material at cheaper prices, low cost of labour and production, and recently-built factories, with new technology, were giving stiff competition to the Indian cashew industry, which was in deep crisis due to high production cost, low international prices, appreciation of India Rupee, low export incentives, etc. The Committee recommend that the Government should come out whole heartedly to the rescue of the cashew industry and extend all sorts of assistance in terms of technology, incentives, trainings and other related infrastructure, for proper development and promotion of exports of cashew, under a long term holistic plan. The Government should also explore appropriate ways and means to extend some financial assistance to boost Cashew Cultivation in other areas in the country for development and promotion of exports.
4.26 The Committee in their 85th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09), had recommended that the Government should look into the issue and consider bringing all aspects related to cashew under the ambit of the proposed Cashew Board, for its all round growth. The Department of Commerce, in its replies to the Action Taken Notes on the above stated Report, stated that in pursuance of the feasibility report submitted by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (11FT), it has taken a decision for formation of Cashew Board by merging the activities of Cashew Export Promotion Council and Directorate of Cashew and Cocoa Development. Necessary approval from Planning Commission, Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) and Department of Legal Affairs, etc. has been sought. After necessary approvals, the proposal would be submitted to Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for its approval. The Sub Committee, during its visit to Kollam, noted that out of the 648 cashew processing factories and 150 filling and packing units in Kerala, 637 factories were located in Kollam and three adjoining districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthittu and Alappuzha. Based on the above statistics, there was a growing demand for setting up of a Cashew Board in Kollam. The Committee, in this regard, recommend that the Government should pursue the matter vigorously in close coordination with the various agencies so as to expedite the matter of setting up of the Cashew Board at Kollam, keeping in view the huge potential of exports involved in the cashew exports. It should also render all possible assistance to the State Government in this regard.
4.27 The Government of India had identified 12 towns as Towns of Export Excellence. Out of these 12 towns, Uttar Pradesh has only Khekra as Town of Export Excellence. It was a known fact that in terms of economic growth, that State was one of the backward States of the country. The State is known for a number of agricultural products. The mango of Malihabad, guava of Allahabad and Amla of Pratapgarh were world famous for export of these items. There was a vast scope for establishing the Towns of Export Excellence (TEEs) at these places. The Committee recommend that places known for export of fruits, etc., be declared as TEEs. This would tend to create employment and creation of infrastructure there. It would also tend to restrict the movement to bigger cities for employment to a large extent.
4.28 The Committee note that there are many cities across the country from where exports of various principle commodities like plantation, agri and allied products, marine products, ores and minerals, leather, gems and jewellery, sports goods, chemicals and related products, engineering goods, 40 electronic goods, project goods, textiles, handicrafts, carpets, cotton raw including waste and petroleum products, take place. However, the Government has notified very few Towns of Export Excellence. The Committee, therefore, recommend that the Government should review the criteria for notification of Towns of Export Excellence with a view to bring more Towns on the International Map of Exports thereby creating more employment and revenue. 41
OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS — AT A GLANCE
1. The Committee recommend that the Government should provide the facilities to pick up agri-products coming from the North-Eastern Region through domestic airlines, without involving a third party handling form domestic cargo shed to international cargo shed, involving extra cost and time. Direct booking of cargo by air for export may be allowed from the distant domestic airports in North-Eastern Region. (Para 4.2)
2. The Committee recommend that the Government should formulate a policy so as to facilitate provision of basic infrastructure facilities for exports, including incentives for promotion of exports of the country at various Airports, Ports, ICDs and LCSs across the country, which areas seem to have remained neglected by the Government and other agencies. (Para 4.5)
3. Appreciating the initiatives being taken by the Government, the Committee recommend that while taking up development of various airports, the Government should keep in view the fact that the general public is not subjected to any hardships/hazards in terms of noise or environment pollution. At the same time, it should also take into consideration the viability of the domestic as well as the Exim trade at each of these airports, their connectivity through rail, air and road, and extend all such infrastructure facilities, as are necessary for both types of trade. (Para 4.6) 4. The Committee recommend that the Government, while formulating its policies for infrastructure and facilities at various cargo export centres, should not only coordinate with various stake-holders and introduce and implement the same in such a way that it takes care of both the Government as well as various stake-holders. At the same time, the Government should study various aspects of introducing the concept of Cargo Village at each airport as it would tend to improve the functioning of the cargo system at the airports. (Para 4.7)
5. The Committee recommend that the Government should come forward with a long term mechanism so as to provide proper infrastructure facilities of international standards at the airports, especially at the Guwahati International Airport, to boost the trade and exports. (Para 4.8)
6. The Committee recommend that dwell time in cargo clearance should be reduced, by simplifying customs procedures, and by similar other measures. Freight handling charges should be reduced to make it globally competitive. (Para 4.10)
7. The Committee recommend that the EDI system should be made fully operational, as early as possible, so as to facilitate electronic clearance of export and import containers, thus saving the dwell time in cargo clearance. (Para 4.11)
8. The Committee recommend that in order to achieve substantial step up in Inland Water Transport (IWT) traffic, the Government should focus its thrust on creation of infrastructure. As the Inland Water Transport (IWT) has substantial share in inland transport network, the Government should take steps for augmentation of IWT fleet. (Para 4.12) 9. The Government should take steps to introduce sophisticated navigation system in the River Brahmputra for promotion of exports, so as to generate revenue and to provide employment, particularly for the people of the North-East. (Para 4.13)
41 42
10. The Committee recommend that the Government should take immediate steps to provide facilities of accommodation, schooling for the kids, transportation, communication network, medical centres, etc., to the staff, so as to increase their efficiency and transparency in the systems. (Para 4.14)
11. The Committee recommend that there is a need for extension of 6% concession on rail freight given by the Railways for full rake movements from in and out of the North East, to cover export rakes from ICD, Amingaon, being operated by CONCOR. (Para 4.15)
12. The Committee observe that while on one hand the Government claimed upgrading various infrastructure facilities, on the other hand, it seemed to have shut eyes in respect of the customer satisfaction and promotion of exports. The Committee, therefore, recommend that the Government should have frequent interactions, not only with the concerned Central and State agencies, but also with the traders and exporters. The trading community was contributing immensely towards generation of revenue, including the foreign exchange, for the Government. The Government should shun its policy of infinite slumber and aloofness, and pay heed to the problems of the traders in a positive manner, to help boost the exports of the country. (Para 4.16)
13. The Committee recommend that all the basic facilities should be immediately provided at the above LCSs. (Para 4.17)
14. The Committee recommend that the Government should study the feasibility of establishing an ICD at Moreh, an important trading and strategic point, due to its being on the international border, which has also got the huge potential for exim trade, and provide all requisite infrastructure facilities, including the incentives available under various schemes, to boost the export trade of the country. (Para 4.18)
15. The Committee recommend that the Government should take stock of the prevailing grim situation at the LCS at Agartala and render all possible assistance, to improve the same, on priority basis. (Para 4.19)
16. The Committee recommend that the Government should study the growth aspects of the terminal and take all the necessary steps, to upgrade it as an Inland Container Depot, in order to boost the trade. It should also envisage a long term policy, whereby the requisite infrastructure facilities like EDI, bonded warehouses, improved transportation connectivity, etc. may be well planned, for promotion of exports. (Para 4.20)
17. The Committee recommend that the Government should work in a pro-active manner alongwith the concerned Central Ministries and State Government Departments, and draw up a roadmap for infrastructural development for promotion of exports, covering all the important parts of the country, that have the exports potential. (Para 4.21)
18. The Government should evolve a policy, under which the term “infrastructure” implies the minimum infrastructure comprising adequate space for warehouses, stake-holders’ office and for handling of cargos (loading/unloading); easy and proper road connectivity (good condition), rail and air connectivity for smooth transportation of cargos; latest technology like EDI, for speedy communication between the concerned authorities and the customers for faster disposal of cargos; proper electrification in and around the establishments; various types of sophisticated equipments, including the security gadgets, etc., as per the requirement of these establishments; provisions for renovation/upgradation of the existing establishments; export incentives to traders; and funding, wherever required, under various Schemes, with a view to boost the country’s trade. (Para 4.22) 43
19. The Committee desire that the Department of Commerce should also have a closer interaction with the Ministry of Urban Development for provision of better infrastructural facilities in and around all establishments that are involved in various types of exports from the country. (Para 4.23) 20. The Committee recommend that funds may be earmarked separately to cater to the needs of the Towns of Export Excellence so as to fill in critical gaps in infrastructure like connection of export hubs with National Highways/Waterways, taking care of the power needs of the Towns of Export Excellence by setting up small power plants, setting up of Common Warehouses for display of products of the entire clusters. This separate outlay should be distributed among various TEEs, based on the projects taken at hand by them. The Committee also recommend that common effluent treatment plants for sea food industries may be set up in places like Alleppy with contribution from the various stake holders. (Para 4.24) 21. The Committee recommend that the Government should come out whole heartedly to the rescue of the cashew industry and extend all sorts of assistance in terms of technology, incentives, trainings and other related infrastructure, for proper development and promotion of exports of cashew, under a long term holistic plan. The Government should also explore appropriate ways and means to extend some financial assistance to boost Cashew Cultivation in other areas in the country for development and promotion of exports. (Para 4.25) 22. The Committee, in this regard, recommend that the Government should pursue the matter vigorously in close coordination with the various agencies so as to expedite the matter of setting up of the Cashew Board at Kollam, keeping in view the huge potential of exports involved in the cashew exports. It should also render all possible assistance to the State Government in this regard. (Para 4.26) 23. The Committee recommend that places known for export of fruits, etc., be declared as TEEs. This would tend to create employment and creation of infrastructure there. It would also tend to restrict the movement to bigger cities for employment to a large extent. (Para 4.27) 24. The Committee recommend that the Government should review the criteria for notification of Towns of Export Excellence with a view to bring more Towns on the International Map of Exports thereby creating more employment and revenue. (Para 4.28)
ANNEXURES
ANNEXURE-I
LIST OF ICDs/CFSs APPROVED BY THE INTER-MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE (IMC) SINCE 1992 (vide para 1.41 of the Report) Sl. No Place Agency Year State LOI date 12 3 456
Andhra Pradesh (7) 1 Visakhapatnam Central Warehousing Corporation 1996 AP 10.05.96 2 Visakhapatnam M/s Sravan Shipping Services 2001 AP 22.10.01 Pvt Ltd. 3 Visakhapatnam Container Corporation of 2004 AP 12.05.04 India Ltd. 4 Hyderabad M/s Batco Integrated 2004 AP 24.09.04 Logistics Pvt. Ltd. 5 Ongole, Prakasam M/s Korkai Terminals 2004 AP 24.09.04 Pvt. Ltd. 6 Visakhapatanam M/s Gateway East India 2005 AP 10.02.05 Pvt. Ltd. 7 Guntur M/s Shertrans Shipping 2006 AP 24.04.06 Pvt. Ltd. 8 Fatuha Container Corporation of 2002 Bihar 02.08.02 India Ltd.
Bihar (1) 9 Derra Bassi Punjab State Warehousing 1998 Chandigarh 17.09.98 Corporation Chandigarh (1) 10 Raipur Container Corporation of 2001 Chhattisgarh 17.09.01 India Ltd.
Chhattisgarh (1) 11 Verna Central Warehousing Corporation 1997 Goa 10.03.97
Goa (1) 12 Kandla Central Warehousing Corporation 1992 Gujarat 15.10.92
47 48
12 3 456
13 Surat Central Warehousing Corporation 1992 Gujarat 15.10.92 14 Vadodara Gujarat State Warehousing 1993 Gujarat 01.02.93 Corporation 15 Deshrath Central Warehousing Corporation 1995 Gujarat 13.12.95 16 Alkeshwar Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1999 Gujarat 24.06.99 17 Vapi Central Warehousing Corporation 1999 Gujarat 24.06.99 18 Vadodara Container Corporation of India Ltd. 2001 Gujarat 02.08.01 19 Mundra M/s MICT 2004 Gujarat 15.01.04 (Kutch) 20 Gandhidham Container Corporation of India Ltd. 2004 Gujarat 24.11.04 (Kandla) 21 Mundra Central Warehousing Corporation 2004 Gujarat 24.11.04 22 Kandla M/s Seabird Marine Services Pvt. 2005 Gujarat 10.02.05 Ltd. 23 Nana Kapaya M/s Rishi Container Station Pvt. 2005 Gujarat 02.08.05 (Mundra) Ltd. 24 Mithiroad MIs Gandhidham Developers Pvt. 2005 Gujarat 02.08.05 (Kandla) Ltd. 25 Mundra M/s Saurashtras Containers Pvt. 2005 Gujarat 02.08.05 Ltd. 26 Mundra Port M/s Forbes and Company*A 2005 Gujarat 26.09.05 27 Mithiroad M/s Kandla Container Freight 2005 Gujarat 26.09.05 (Kandla) Stations 28 Dhrab M/s Ashutosh Container Services 2005 Gujarat 22.11.05 (Mundra) Pvt. Ltd. 29 Mundra M/s Seabird Marine Services Pvt. 2006 Gujarat 20.02.06 Ltd. 30 Mithirohar M/s Arvind V Joshi and Co. 2006 Gujarat 06.03.06 Village Kandla 31 Mundra M/s Meridian Shipping Agency Pvt. 2006 Gujarat 17.03.06 Ltd. 32 Mundra M/s Allcargo Global Logistics Ltd. 2006 Gujarat 12.10.06 33 Mundra M/s Honeycomb Logistics Pvt. Ltd. 2006 Gujarat 12.10.06 34 Ahmedabad M/s Hastri Petro Chemical and 2007 Gujarat 25.04.07 Shipping Ltd. 49
12 3 456
35 Mundra M/s Continental Warehousing Corp. 2007 Gujarat 15.05.07 (Nhava Seva) Ltd. 36 Pipavav Port M/s Box-Trans Logistic Pvt. Ltd. 2007 Gujarat 01.08.07
Gujarat (25) 37 Faridabad @ Mis Associated Container Terminal 1992 Haryana 22.10.92 Ltd. 38 Rewari Haryana Warehousing Corporation 1995 Haryana 28.02.95 39 Kundli Central Warehousing Corporation 2000 Haryana 01.06.2000 40 Garhi M/s Gateway Distriparks Ltd. 2004 Haryana 14.05.04 Harsaru 41 Gurgaon Container Corporation of India Ltd. 2005 Haryana 17.05.05 42 Patli M/s Inland Conware Pvt. Ltd. 2006 Haryana 01.05.06 43 Palwal M/s Inland Conware Pvt. Ltd. 2006 Haryana 12.10.06 44 Village M/s Gateway Distriparks Ltd. 2006 Haryana 12.10.06 Piyala/Asaoti
Haryana (8) 45 Jamshedpur Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1999 Jharkhand 13.04.99
Jharkhand (1) 46 Jammu (Bari Central Warehousing Corporation 2001 JK 01.05.01 B) 47 Rangath Jammu and Kashmir State Industrial 2005 JK 22.11.05 Development Corporation Ltd.
Jammu and Kashmir (2) 48 Mangalore Central Warehousing Corporation 1995 Karnataka 14.08.95 (Panambur) 49 Karwar Central Warehousing Corporation 2000 Karnataka 24.03.2000 50 Whitefield Central Warehousing Corporation 2000 Karnataka 09.08.2000 51 Bangalore @ M/s Continental Warehousing 2001 Karnataka 02.08.01 Corporation Ltd. 52 Kanwar Port M/s Vikram Integrated Logistics 2004 Karnataka 13.05.04 Pvt. Ltd. 53 Bangalore M/s Continental Container Fright 2005 Karnataka 02.08.05 Station 50
12 3 456 Karnataka (6) 54 Cochin M/s Sea Tech Services Ltd. 1994 Kerala 17.03.94 55 Willington M/s Asian Terminals 1995 Kerala 24.10.95 Island Cochin 56 Aroor @ M/s Pace CFS Private Ltd. 1997 Kerala 04.05.97 57 Cochin Kerala State Warehousing, 1998 Kerala 05.10.98 Corporation 58 Kottayam M/s Kottayam Port and Container 2005 Kerala 17.05.05 Terminal Service Pvt. Ltd. 59 Kannur Central Warehousing Corporation 2005 Kerala 17.05.05 60 Cochin Container Corporation of India Ltd. 2006 Kerala 26.07.06 61 Cochin M/s Falcon Infrastructures Ltd. 2007 Kerala 26.09.07
Kerala (8) 62 Nhava Sheva M/s Maersk India Pvt. Ltd. 1992 Maharashtra 14.08.92 63 Dronagiri Central Warehousing Corporation 1992 Maharashtra 15.10.92 Node 64 Nasik Central Warehousing Corporation 1993 Maharashtra 13.08.93 65 Nagpur Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1995 Maharashtra 28.03.95 66 Aurangabad Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1995 Maharashtra 29.05.95 67 Nagpur Maharashtra State Warehousing 1995 Maharashtra 29.05.95 Corpn. 68 Jalgaon Maharashtra State Warehousing 1996 Maharashtra 09.01.96 Corpn. 69 Waluj Central Warehousing Corporation 1996 Maharashtra 15.07.96 70 Dronagiri M/s Gateway Distriparks Ltd. 1996 Maharashtra 15.07.96 71 Dronagiri Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. 1997 Maharashtra 10.03.97 Node 72 Dronagiri, CONCOR + CWC 1997 Maharashtra 10.03.97 73 Dighi, Pune M/s Dynamic Logistics 1997 Maharashtra 04.05.97 74 Dronagiri M/s United Liner Agencies of India 1998 Maharashtra 17.09.98 Node Pvt. Ltd. 75 Miraj Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1998 Maharashtra 17.09.98 76 Kalamboli Maharashtra State Warehousing 1998 Maharashtra 26.10.98 Corpn. 51
12 3 456
77 Bhusawal Container Corporation of India 2000 Maharashtra 01.06.2000 Ltd. 78 Navi Mumbai M/s Continental Warehousing 2001 Maharashtra 02.08.01 Corpn. Ltd. 09.05.02 79 Dronagiri Container Corporation of India 2001 Maharashtra 19.10.01 Node Ltd. 80 Dronagiri M/s Allcargo Movers (India Pvt. 2001 Maharashtra 19.10.01 Node Ltd. 81 Dronagiri M/s Seabird Marina Services Pvt. 2003 Maharashtra 30.06.03 Node Ltd. 82 Dronagiri Maharashtra State Warehousing 2003 Maharashtra 08.07.03 Node Corpn. 83 CWC Central Warehousing Corporation 2004 Maharashtra 07.01.04 Distripark Bhendakhal, Navi Mumbai 84 Desur Container Corporation of India 2004 Maharashtra 22.01.04 (Belgaum) Ltd. 85 Navi Mumbai M/s Continental Warehousing 2004 Maharashtra 28.07.04 Corpn. (Nhava Shava) Ltd. 86 Dhasakoshi M/s Ameya Logistics Pvt. Ltd. 2004 Maharashtra 25.08.04 87 Impex Park, Central Warehousing Corporation 2004 Maharashtra 09.09.04 Dronagiri Node 88 Panvel M/s JWC Logistics Park Pvt. 2004 Maharashtra 24.11.04 Ltd. 89 Panvel M/s Preeti Logistics Ltd. 2004 Maharashtra 30.12.04 90 Nhava Sheva M/s Forbes & Com. *A 2005 Maharashtra* 10.02.05 A 91 Navi Mumbai Central Warehousing Corporation 2005 Maharashtra 10.02.05 92 Dronagiri M/s Maersk India Pvt. Ltd. 2005 Maharashtra 17.05.05 93 Dharamtar M/s PNP Maritime Services Pvt. 2005 Maharashtra 10.11.05 Port, Ltd. Navi Mumbai 94 Nasik (I/A) Container Corporation of India Ltd. 2006 Maharashtra 06.03.06 95 Shridon M/s Transindia Cargo Systems 2006 Maharashtra 06.03.06 Village, Pvt. Ltd. Navi Mumbai 52
12 3 456
96 Village M/s Apollo International Ltd. 2006 Maharashtra 11.05.06 Dhasa Khosi, Navi Mumbai 97 Koproli M/s Nhava Sheva Logistics Pvt. 2006 Maharashtra 11.05.06 Village, Ltd. Navi Mumbai 98 Telegaon M/s KSH Distriparks Pvt. Ltd. 2006 Maharashtra 26.07.06 Dabhade, Pune 99 Jui Village, M/s Coralline Container Services 2007 Maharashtra 01.08.07 JNPT Pvt. Ltd. 100 Village M/s Gem Distriparks and Logistics 2007 Maharashtra 02.08.07 Dighode Ltd. 101 Village Sai M/s Arshhiya Technologies 2007 Maharashtra 23.08.07 @ International Ltd. 102 Village M/s Ramtech Infraservices Pvt. 2007 Maharashtra 15.11.07 Dighode@ Ltd.
Maharashtra (41) 103 Indore Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1993 MP 13.08.93 104 Gwalior Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1995 MP 28.02.95 105 Mandideep Container Corporation of India Ltd. 2002 MP 02.08.02 106 Nimrani M/s Pegasus Logistics Pvt. Ltd. 2006 MP 06.03.06
Madhya Pradesh (4) 107 Ballasore Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1994 Orissa 19.10.94
Orrisa (1) 108 Pondicherry M/s Sattva Hi-Tech and Conware Pvt.1999 Pondicherry 06.05.99 Ltd. 109 Pondicherry M/s Continental Container Freight 2004 Pondicherry 21.09.04 Station
Pondicherry (2) 110 Amritsar Punjab State Warehousing 1992 Punjab 13.07.92 Corporation 111 Bhatinda Punjab State Warehousing 1993 Punjab 13.08.93 Corporation 53
12 3 456
112 Ludhiana M/s Overseas Warehousing Pvt. 1997 Punjab 04.05.97 Ltd. 113 Ludhiana M/s Krishna Cargo Movers Pvt. 2006 Punjab 11.05.06 Ltd. 114 Amloh Road M/s Gurudev Impex Pvt. Ltd. 2007 Punjab 13.09.07
Punjab (5) 115 Jodhpur Rajasthan Small Industries 1993 Rajasthan 22.01.93 Corporation 116 Udaipur Central Warehousing Corporation 1993 Rajasthan 13.08.93 117 Bhilwara Rajasthan Small Industries 1996 Rajasthan 06.06.96 Corporation 118 Bhiwadi Rajasthan Small Industries 1997 Rajasthan 10.03.97 Corporation 119 Jaipur Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1997 Rajasthan 10.11.97 120 Jodhpur Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1999 Rajasthan 01.09.99 121 Jodhpur M/s Hasti Petro Chemical and 2000 Rajasthan 24.03.2000 Shipping Ltd. 122 Ravatha Container Corporation of India Ltd. 2004 Rajasthan 22.01.04 Road (Kota) 123 Mandavaria M/s Inland Conware Pvt. Ltd. 2007 Rajasthan 01.08.07
Rajasthan (9) 124 Tuticorin Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1992 TN 22.10.92 125 Tuticorin @ M/s SEC Services Ltd. 1992 TN 16.10.92 126 Madhavaram Central Warehousing Corporation 1993 TN 13.08.93 127 Tirupur M/s TEA Lemuir Cont. Terminal 1994 TN 28.03.94 Pvt. Ltd. 128 Tuticorin M/s St. John Freight Systems Pvt. 1994 TN 11.08.94 Ltd. 129 Coimbatore, Central Warehousing Corporation 1995 TN 14.08.95 Singanallur 130 Chennai M/s Gateway Distriparks (South) 1995 TN 28.02.95 Pvt. Ltd. 10.05.05 131 Chennai M/s A.S. Shipping Agencies Pvt. 1995 TN 28.02.95 Ltd. 54
12 3 456
132 Salem M/s Sanco Trans Ltd. 1995 TN 14.08.95 133 Chennai Balmer Lawrie and Co. Ltd. 1995 TN 24.10.95 134 Chennai M/s Viking Warehousing 1995 TN 24.10.95 135 Chennai M/s SICAL CWT Distriparks Ltd. 1996 TN 15.07.96 136 Chennai M/s Binny Limited 1996 TN 15.07.96 137 Tuticorin Central Warehousing Corporation 1997 TN 10.11.97 138 Tuticorin M/s Sanco Trans Ltd. 1997 TN 10.11.97 139 Madurai Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1997 TN 10.11.97 140 Chennai M/s Sattva Hi-Tech and Conware 1999 TN 01.09.99 Pvt. Ltd. 141 Malpakkam M/s Sattva Hi-Tech and Conware 2000 TN 24.03.2000 Arakkonam (Arakkonam) Pvt. Ltd. 142 Tuticorin M/s Continental Container Freight 2000 TN 24.03.2000 Station 143 Karur M/s Continental Container Freight 2000 TN 28.06.2000 Station 144 Redhills M/s Continental Warehousing Corpn. 2000 TN 09.08.2000 Ltd., Chennai 145 Tuticorin M/s Raja Agencies 2001 TN 07.06.01 146 Manali M/s Indian Corp. Business Centre 2002 TN 02.08.02 Ltd. 147 Tirupur M/s Continental Container Freight 2002 TN 06.08.02 Station 148 Tuticorin M/s K.S.P.S. Natarajan CFS Park 2002 TN 07.08.02 Pvt. Ltd. 149 Tuticorin M/s Hari & Co. 2002 TN 16.08.02 150 Manali M/s Kailash Shipping Services 2002 TN 08.11.02 Pvt. Ltd. 151 Edyansavadu M/s Triway CFS Pvt. Ltd. 2002 TN 22.11.02 (ponneri Taluk) 152 Tirupur Container Corporation of India Ltd. 2003 TN 07.05.03 153 Chennai M/s Vishrutha Logistics Ltd. 2003 TN 30.06.03 154 Coimbatore M/s Chettinad Logistics Pvt. Ltd. 2003 TN 26.09.03 155 Irugur Container Corporation of India Ltd. 2004 TN 24.11.04 55
12 3 456
156 Tuticorin M/s A.S. Shipping Pvt. Ltd. 2005 TN 17.05.05 157 Manali M/s Sattva Logistics Pvt. Ltd. 2005 TN 26.09.05 158 Chennai M/s Allcargo Movers (I) Pvt. Ltd. 2006 TN 06.03.06 159 Vallur Village, M/s German Express Shipping 2006 TN 06.03.06 Chennai Agency (India) Pvt. Ltd. 160 Napalayam M/s PRK Container Freight Station 2006 TN 11.05.06 Chennai Pvt. Ltd. 161 Vichur M/s Avanthi Logistics Pvt. Ltd. 2006 TN 29.06.06 Village, Chennai 162 Sadayankuppam M/s GRR Logistics Pvt. Ltd. 2006 TN 26.07.06 Village, Chennai 163 Chennai M/s St. John Freight Systems Ltd. 2006 TN 26.07.06 164 Chennai M/s Chandra CFS and Terminal 2006 TN 26.07.06 Operators Pvt. Ltd. 165 Kattrambakkam M/s Sun Global Logistics Pvt. Ltd. 2006 TN 26.07.06 Village, Chennai 166 Irungattukottai, M/s Indev Logistics Pvt Ltd. 2006 TN 26.07.06 Chennai 167 Vichur M/s ABN Logistics (P) Ltd. 2006 TN 26.07.06 Village, Chennai 168 Chennai M/s Devadoss Reddy Logistics 2006 TN 12.10.06 Pvt. Ltd. 169 Tuticorin M/s Vilsons Container Terminal 2007 TN 15.05.07 170 Tuticorin M/s Continental Warehousing 2007 TN 15.05.07 Corporation (Nhava Seva) Ltd. 171 Gummidipo- M/s Durai Shipping and Services 2007 TN 15.05.07 ondi, Chennai Pvt. Ltd. 172 Irrungathik- M/s Hyundai Motor India Ltd. 2007 TN 15.05.07 ottai, Chennai 173 Chrompet Central Warehousing Corporation 2007 TN 02.08.07 (Chennai) 174 Chennai M/s Ennore Cargo Containers 2005 TN 10.02.05 Terminals Pvt. Ltd. $ Tamil Nadu (51) 56
12 3 456 175 Kanpur Central Warehousing Corporation 1994 UP 19.10.94 176 Varanasi Central Warehousing Corporation 1995 UP 29.05.95 177 Agra Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1995 UP 29.05.95 178 Saharanpur Central Warehousing Corporation 1996 UP 10.05.96 179 Dadri, Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1997 UP 10.11.97 Greator, Noida 180 Kanpur Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1998 UP 17.09.98 181 Loni Central Warehousing Corporation 1998 UP 17.09.98 182 Bhadohi Central Warehousing Corporation 1998 UP 17.09.98 183 Surajpur, G. Central Warehousing Corporation 1999 UP 13.04.99 Noida 184 Dadri M/s Star Track Terminal Pvt. Ltd. 2004 UP 14.01.04 185 Dadri M/s Albatross CFS Pvt. Ltd. 2005 UP 08.02.05 186 Dadri M/s Trident Terminals Pvt. Ltd. 2005 UP 10.02.05 187 Madhosingh Container Corporation of India Ltd. 2005 UP 17.05.05 (Mirzapur) 188 Dadri M/s CMA CGM Logistics Park 2006 UP 20.02.06 (Dadri) Pvt. Ltd. Uttar Pradesh (14)
189 Calcutta Balmer Lawrie and Co. Ltd. 1992 WB 13.07.92 190 Calcutta Central Warehousing Corporation 1992 WB 15.10.92 191 Haldia Central Warehousing Corporation 1996 WB 09.01.96 192 Cossipore Container Corporation of India Ltd. 1998 WB 20.04.98 Road 193 Haldia M/s A.L. Logistics Pvt. Ltd. 2003 WB 27.05.03 194 Durgapur M/s Allied Services Ltd. 2005 WB 08.02.05 West Bengal (6) 57
ANNEXURE-II CONCOR CONTAINER TERMINALS (vide para 1.49 of the Report)
Pure Exim Container Concor Container Pure Domestic Terminals (18) Terminals Terminals (9) Combined (Exim+ Domestic) Container Terminals (31) 123 (CENTRAL REGION) (CENTRAL REGION) (CENTRAL REGION) Nil 1 Daulatabad (Aurangabad) 1 Fatuha (Patna) (EASTERN REGION) 2 Nagpur 2 Shalimar (Kolkata) 1 Amingaon (Guwahati) 3 Bhusawal (NORTHERN REGION) (NORTHERN REGION) 4 Raipur 3 Okhla (Delhi) 2 Tughlakabad (Delhi) 5 Mandideep (Bhopal) 4 Phillaur (Ludhiana) 3 Babarpur (Panipat) (EASTERN REGION) (NORTH WEST REGION) 4 Dhandharikalan (Ludhiana) 6 Majerhat (Kolkata) 5 Khodiyar (Ahmedabad) 5 Dadri (Greater Noida) 7 Balasore (SOUTHERN REGION) 6 Malanpur (Gwalior) 8 Tata Nagar (Jamshedpur) 6 Salem Market (NORTH WEST REGION) 9 Haldia (SOUTH CENTRAL REGION) 7 Sabarmati (Ahmedabad) (NORTHERN REGION) 7 Sanathnagar (Hyderabad) 8 Vadodara (Chhani) 10 Moradabad 8 Guntur (SOUTHERN REGION) 11 Rewari (WESTERN REGION) 9 Milavittan (Tuticorin) 12 Kanakpura (Jaipur) 9 Turbhe (Mumbai) 10 Irugur (Coimbatore) 13 Ballabhgarh 11 Harbour of Madras (Chennai) 14 Bhagat ki Kothi (Jodhpur) 12 Tiruppur 15 Sonepat (SOUTH CENTRAL REGION) 16 Dhappar 13 Sanathnagar (Hyderabad) (NORTH CENTRAL REGION) (WESTERN REGION) 17 Agra East Bank (Agra) 14 New Mulund (Mumbai) 18 Kanpur
57 58
123
15 Mulund (Mumbai) 19 Ravtha Road (Kota) (NORTH WEST REGION) 20 Madho Singh (Mirazpur) 16 Pithampur (Indore) 21 Vododara 17 Dronagiri Node 22 Gandhidham 18 Ratlam 23 Ankleshwar (SOUTHERN REGION) 24 Whitefield (Bangalore) 25 Tondiarpet (Chennai) 26 Koodal Nagar (Madurai) 27 Cochin (SOUTH CENTRAL REGION) 28 Visakhapatnam 29 Desur (WESTERN REGION) 30 Miraj 31 Chinchwad (Pune) 59
MINUTES 60 61
*XVI SIXTEENTH MEETING
The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce met at 11.30 A.M. on Wednesday, the 18th April, 2007, in Room No. ‘62’, First Floor, Parliament House, New Delhi. PRESENT 1. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri K Keshava Rao 4. Shri Moinul Hassan 5. Shri Dinesh Trivedi LOK SABHA 6. Shri C.K. Chandrappan 7. Shri Radhey Shyam Kori 8. Shri N. N. Krishnadas 9. Shri Jivabhai A. Patel 10. Shri Virchandra Paswan 11. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 12. Shri Kashiram Rana 13. Shri Haribhau Rathod 14. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy 15. Shri Sarbananda Sonowal 16. Shri Amitava Nandy 17. Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy 18. Shri Sippiparai Ravichandran SECRETARIAT Shri Ravi Kant Chopra, JS & FA Shri Surinder Kumar Watts, Director Shri M. K. Khan, Under Secretary Shri D. K. Mishra, Committee Officer
2. * * *
* Minutes of 1st to 15th meetings of the Committee pertains to other matters. *** Pertains to other subject.
61 62
3. * * *
4. While considering the Report on *** pertaining to the Department of Commerce, the Committee felt that infrastructure was the biggest bottleneck for exports, as well as for manufacturing. The Committee decided that the Chairman may constitute a Sub-committee, to study the export infrastructure available at Airports, Ports, ICDs and LCSs in the country. The Committee also decided that the Chairman may constitute another Sub-Committee, to examine the concept of Towns of Export Excellence.
5. The Committee adjourned at 2.15 P.M.
*** Pertains to other subject. 63
I FIRST MEETING
The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce met at 1.00 P.M. on Monday, the 11th August, 2008, in Private Dinning Room ‘PDR’, Ground Floor, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi.
PRESENT 1. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Jai Parkash Aggarwal 4. Shri Mohammed Amin 5. Shri Y. P. Trivedi LOK SABHA 6. Shri C. K. Chandrappan 7. Shri Manjunath Kunnur 8. Shri Amitava Nandi 9. Shri Jivabhai A. Patel 10. Shri Virchandra Paswan 11. Shri Shishupal N. Patle 12. Shri Kashiram Rana 13. Shri Sippiparai Rathod 14. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy 15. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 16. Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy SECRETARIAT Shri Surinder Kumar Watts, Director Shri M. K. Khan, Deputy Director Shrimati Indira C. Vaidya, Committee Officer
2. * * *
3. * * *
4. The Chairman directed the Secretariat that a list of the companies that have been awarded contracts for development/modernisation of airports in metro cities and ports across the country may also be obtained from the concerned Ministries.
5. The meeting adjourned at 1.50 P.M.
*** Pertains to other subject.
63 64
*V FIFTH MEETING
The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce met at 12.00 Noon on Thursday, the 15th January, 2009, in Room No. ‘63’, First Floor, Parliament House, New Delhi.
PRESENT 1. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Jai Parkash Aggarwal 4. Dr. K. Keshava Rao 5. Shri Mohammed Amin 6. Shri Parimal Nathwani
LOK SABHA 7. Shri C. K. Chandrappan 8. Shri Shishupal N. Patle 9. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 10. Shri Kashiram Rana 11. Shri S. P. Y. Reddy 12. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 13. Shri Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki 14. Shri Sarvananda Sonowal 15. Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy
SECRETARIAT Shri Ravi Kant Chopra, JS & FA Shri Surinder Kumar Watts, Director Shri T. N. Pandey, Deputy Director Shrimati Indira C. Vaidya, Committee Officer WITNESSES
REPRESENTATIVES OF MINISTRIES/DEPARTMENTS
I. Department of Commerce Shri. Rahul Khullar, Special Secretary Shri N. K. Gupta, Joint Secretary Shri A. K. Bamba, Director
* Minutes of 2nd to 4th meeting of the Committee pertain to other matters.
64 65
II. Department of Revenue Shri P. V. Bhide, Secretary (Revenue) Shri P. C. Jha, Chairman, CBEC Shri J. K. Bhatra, Member (Customs) Shri Y. G. Parande, DG (Systems), CBEC Shri S. K. Thakur, Deputy Secretary CBEC Ms. Kameswari Subramanian, Joint Secretary, (Customs) CBEC Shri A. K. Kaushal, Commissioner of Customs, Bangalore Shri M. M. Parthiban, Director (Customs)
III. Department of Civil Aviation Shri K. N. Shrivastava, Joint Secretary
IV. Department of Food and Public Distribution Shrimati Alka Sirohi, Secretary (F&PD) Shri N. K. Raghupathy, Addl. Secretary & FA Shri Naveen Prakash, Joint Secretary Shri B. B. Pattanaik, CMD, CWC Shri Mahesh Pandey, General Manager (Project), CWC
V. Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) Shri Sri Prakash, MT Shri Girish Chandra, AM/T Shri Pradeep Bhatnagar, Adv/Infra Shri D. P. Pandey, Adv./Marketing Shri Rakesh Mehrotra, MD, CONCOR
VI. Department of Shipping Shri Vijay Chhibber, AS & FA Shri R. Srinivasa Naik Sub: Towns of Export Excellence and Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, Inland Container Depot (ICDs) and land Custom Stations (lCSs) in the country.
2. The Committee heard the views of the representatives of the Department of Commerce, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) and Department of Shipping on the subject of Towns of Export Excellence and Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, Inland Container Depot (ICDs) and Land Custom Stations (LCSs) in the country. Thereafter, Members sought some clarifications which were partially replied to by the witnesses. The Chairman directed the witnesses to send their written replies in response to the queries, for which information was not readily available with them.
3. A verbatim record of the proceedings of the meeting was kept.
4. The Committee adjourned at 5.30 P.M. 66
*VII SEVENTH MEETING
The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce met at 3.00 P.M. on Thursday, the 19th February, 2009; in Committee Room ‘A’, Ground Floor, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi. PRESENT 1. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Dr. K. Keshava Rao 4. Shri Y. P. Trivedi LOK SABHA 5. Shri C.K. Chandrappan 6. Shri N. N. Krishnadas 7. Shri Shishupal N. Patle 8. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 9. Shri Gingee N. Ramachandran 10. Shri Kashiram Rana 11. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 12. Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy SECRETARIAT Shri Ravi Kant Chopra, JS & FA Shri Surinder Kumar Watts, Director Shri T. N. Pandey, Deputy Director Shrimati Indira C. Vaidya, Committee Officer WITNESSES
REPRESENTATIVES OF DEPARTMENTS
1. Department of Commerce Shri G. K. Pillai, Secretary Shri R. Gopalan, Additional Secretary
II. Department of Revenue Shri P. V. Bhide, Secretary (Revenue)
* Minutes of 6th meeting of the Committee pertain to other matters.
66 67
Shri P. C. Jha, Chairman, CBEC Shri J. K. Batra, Member (Customs) Ms. Kameswari Subramanian, Joint Secretary, (Customs) CBEC Shri L. K. Gupta, Joint Secretary, (Admn, E & C) Shri Y. G. Parande, DG (Systems), CBEC Shri G. S. Narang, D.G. (CBEC) Shri M. M. Parthiban, Director (Customs)
III. Department of Road Transport and Highways Shri Brahm Dutt, Secretary Shri Brijeshwar Singh, Chairman, NHAI Shri V. K. Sinha, ADG-I Shri Nirmaljit Singh, ADG-II
2. The Committee heard the views of the representatives of the Department of Commerce, Department of Revenue and Department of Road Transport and Highways on the subject of Towns of Export Excellence and Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, Inland Container Depot (ICDs) and Land Custom Stations (LCSs) in the country. Thereafter, Members sought some clarifications which were partially replied to by the witnesses. The Chairman directed the witnesses to send their written replies in response to the queries, for which information was not readily available with them.
3. A verbatim record of the proceedings of the meeting was kept.
4. The Committee adjourned at 4.30 P.M. 68
VIII EIGHTH MEETING
The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce met at 12.00 Noon on Monday, the 2nd March, 2009, in Room No. ‘63’, First Floor, Parliament House, New Delhi. PRESENT 1. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Jai Parkash Aggarwal 4. Shri Banwari Lal Kanchhal 5. Shri Mohammed Amin 6. Shri Parimal Nathwani LOK SABHA 7. Shri C.K. Chandrappan 8. Shri Jivabhai A. Patel 9. Shri Virchandra Paswan 10. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 11. Shri Kashiram Rana 12. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy 13. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 14. Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy SECRETARIAT Shri Ravi Kant Chopra, JS & FA Shri Surinder Kumar Watts, Director Shri T. N. Pandey, Deputy Director Shrimati Indira C. Vaidya, Committee Officer WITNESSES REPRESENTATIVES OF DEPARTMENTS I. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion *** II. Department of Consumer Affairs *** 2. * * *
*** Pertains to other subject.
68 69
3. A verbatim record of the proceedings of the meeting was kept.
4. Some Members drew attention of the Chairman towards the oral evidence heard by the Committee in respect of the subject of Towns of Export Excellence and the Export Infrastructure at Ports, Airports, ICDs and LCSs in the country. They were of the view that it would be in the fitness of things if the views of Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development were also heard, since that Ministry could also supplement the initiatives of other Departments in providing the requisite export infrastructure. The Committee authorized the Chairman to hear the views of Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, on behalf of the Committee.
5. The Committee adjourned at 1.45 P.M. 70
IX NINTH MEETING
The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce met at 12.00 Noon on Monday, the 4th May, 2009, in Room No. ‘63’, First Floor, Parliament House, New Delhi.
PRESENT 1. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi — Chairman
RAJYA SABHA 2. Dr. K. Keshava Rao 3. Shri Y.P. Trivedi
LOK SABHA 4. Shri C.K. Chandrappan 5. Shri N.N. Krishnadas 6. Shri Virchandra Paswan 7. Shri Shishupal N. Patle 8. Shri Gingee N. Ramachandran 9. Shri Kashiram Rana 10. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy 11. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 12. Shri Sarvananda Sonowal SECRETARIAT Shri P. Gopalakrishnan, Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser Shri Surinder Kumar Watts, Director Shri T.N. Pandey, Deputy Director Shrimati Indira Chaturvedi Vaidya, Committee Officer
2. The Chairman informed the Members that this would be the last meeting of this Committee. He thanked Members for their wholehearted co-operation in accomplishing the tasks undertaken by the Committee. He also conveyed his appreciation to the Convenors and Members of the two Sub Committees, for gathering useful information on various subjects under study, for consideration of the Committee.
3. Members of the Committee conveyed their gratitude and appreciation for the dynamic leadership provided by the Chairman to the Committee. They were all praise for his intellectual capabilities and his in-depth understanding of the subjects taken up by the Committee. The Members thanked him for his contribution in producing very thought-provoking reports, which had received wide acclaim.
70 71
4. * * *
5. The Committee then took up for consideration the draft Reports on (i) ***, (ii) ***, and (iii) Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, ICD, LCSs, etc. and Towns of Export Excellence in the Country. After some discussion, the Committee adopted the above Reports and authorized the Chairman to effect necessary changes and corrections therein. Since the Parliament was not in session, the Committee authorized the Chairman that the Report may be presented to Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha, in accordance with the procedure laid down in the direction of Hon’ble Chairman, as published in Rajya Sabha Bulletin, Part II, dated 25th January, 1996.
6. The Chairman then informed Members that he had to drop the idea of hearing the views of Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development on the subject of Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, ICDs, LCSs etc. and Towns of Export Excellence in the country, due to paucity of time. The Committee agreed with the Chairman. However, it decided that a suitable para may be inserted in the draft report to the effect that the Department of Commerce may co-ordinate with the Ministry of Urban Development also in taking various measures in respect of Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, ICDs, LCSs etc. and Towns of Export Excellence in the country.
7. The Committee adjourned at 1.15 P.M.
*** Pertains to other subject. 72
II MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS OF SUB-COMMITTEE-I OF THE DEPARTMENT RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE
I FIRST MEETING
The Sub-Committee-II of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce met at 11.00 A.M. on Thursday, the 31st January, 2008, in Committee Room ‘A’, Ground Floor, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi. PRESENT 1. Shri Kashiram Rana — Convenor RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Robert Kharshiing LOK SABHA 4. Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda 5. Shri Radhey Shyam Kori 6. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 7. Shri Nikhilanada Sar 8. Shri Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki SECRETARIAT Shri Ravi Kant Chopra, JS & FA Shri M.K. Khan, Deputy Director Shrimati Indira C. Vaidya, Committee Officer WITNESSES Department of Commerce Shri R. Gopalan, Addl. Secretary Shri R.S. Gujral, Addl. Secretary Shri N.K. Gupta, Joint Secretary
2. The Sub Committee heard the views of Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, on the subject of Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, ICDs and LCS in the country and Towns of Export Excellence. Members sought some clarifications which were replied to by the witnesses. The Convenor directed the witnesses to send their written replies in response to the queries, for which information was not readily available, as early as possible.
3. The Sub Committee then discussed its future programme. After some discussion, the Sub- Committee decided to visit the States of Kerala and Tamil Nadu from 11th to 15th February, 2008
72 73 for obtaining first hand information on the subject of Towns of Export Excellence and Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, ICDs and LCSs in the country. The Sub Committee authorized the Convenor to finalize the details of the visit programme and seek permission of the Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha, through the Chairman of the Committee, for the visit.
4. The Sub Committee adjourned at 12.15 P.M. 74
II SECOND MEETING
The Sub-Committee-II of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce met at 3.00 P.M. on Wednesday, the 23rd April, 2008, in Committee Room ‘A’, Ground Floor, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi.
PRESENT 1. Shri Kashiram Rana — Convenor
RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Banwari Lal Kanchhal
LOK SABHA 3. Shri Radhey Shyam Kori 4. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 5. Shri Nikhilanada Sar
SECRETARIAT Shri Surinder Kumar Watts, Director Shri M.K. Khan, Deputy Director Shrimati Indira C. Vaidya, Committee Officer
2. The Sub-Committee-II took up for review the progress of consideration of the subject pending before it, namely, the Towns of Export Excellence and the Exports Infrastructure at the Air Ports, Ports, ICDs, LCS, etc. in the country and discussed its future programme. After some discussion, the Sub-Committee decided to visit the States of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Sikkim and Manipur from 24th to 31st May, 2008 for obtaining first hand information on the subject. The Sub Committee authorized the Convenor to finalize the details of the visit programme and seek permission of Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha, through the Chairman of the Committee, for the proposed visit.
3. The Sub-Committee adjourned at 3.45 P.M.
74 75
II MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS OF SUB-COMMITTEE-II OF THE DEPARTMENT RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE
I FIRST MEETING
The Sub-Committee-II of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce met at 12.00 Noon on Monday, the 18th August, 2008, in Committee Room ‘E’, Basement, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi. PRESENT 1. Shri Kashiram Rana — Convenor MEMBERS RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Banwari Lal Kanchhal 4. Shri Parimal Nathwani LOK SABHA 5. Shri Radhey Shyam Kori 6. Shri N.N. Krishnadas 7. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 8. Shri Haribhau Rathod 9. Shri Sippiparai Ravichandran 10. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy 11. Shri Nikhilanada Sar SECRETARIAT Shri Surinder Kumar Watts, Director Shri M.K. Khan, Deputy Director Shrimati Indira C. Vaidya, Committee Officer 2. The Convenor welcomed Members to the first meeting of the reconstituted Sub Committee. The Sub Committee then discussed its future programme and took up for review the progress of examination of the subject pending before it namely, ‘Towns of Export Excellence and Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, ICDs and LCSs in the country’. After some discussion, the Sub Committee decided to visit Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam from 4th to 9th September, 2008, for obtaining first hand information in respect of the subject under examination. The Sub Committee authorized the Convenor to finalize the details of the visit and seek permission of Hon'ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha, through the Chairman of the Committee, for the visit.
3. The Sub-Committee adjourned at 12.30 P.M.
75 II SECOND MEETING
The Sub-Committee-II of the Departmen-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce met at 3.00 P.M. on Wednesday, the 12th November, 2008, in Committee Room ‘D’, Ground Floor, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi. PRESENT 1. Shri Kashiram Rana — Convenor
MEMBERS
RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai LOK SABHA 3. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda 4. Shri N.N. Krishnadas 5. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 6. Shri Haribhau Rathod 7. Shri Sippiparai Ravichandran 8. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy SECRETARIAT Shri Surinder Kumar Watts, Director Shri T.N. Pandey, Deputy Director Shrimati Indira C. Vaidya, Committee Officer
2. The Sub-Committee took up for review the progress of examination of the subject pending before it namely, ‘Towns of Export Excellence and Export Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, ICDs and LCSs in the country’. The Convenor pointed out that for a fruitful examination of the subject, it was very important to hear the views of the representatives of the Ministries/Departments concerned with the subject. Some Members opined that the main Committee was going to meet on the 21st, 22nd and 24th November, 2008. It may be more appropriate if they are invited before the full Committee. The Sub Committee, therefore, decided that the Convenor may request the Chairman of the Committee to invite the representatives of the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Railways and the Departments of Commerce; Food and Public Distribution; Revenue and Shipping, at one of its next sittings, to present their views on the subject.
3. The Sub-Committee then decided to visit Delhi, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Panipat, Mundra and Kandla from 27th November to 1st December, 2008, for obtaining first hand information in respect of the subject under examination. The Sub-Committee authorized the Convenor to finalize the details of the visit and seek permission of Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha, through the Chairman of the Committee, for the visit.
4. The Sub-Committee adjourned at 3.30 P.M.
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