March 28, 2025
Lok Sabha MP Pratima Mondal’s speech on The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2024
Sir, on behalf of All India Trinamool Congress, I rise to speak on the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2024. India has 13 major ports, namely, Kolkata, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin, Port Blair and others. But Kolkata Port is the oldest port in our country established by the British East India Company in the year 1870. This port is known as the gateway to Eastern India for the rest of the world. The port is part of the 21st century Maritime Silk Route. As on March, 2018, the port is capable of processing annually 6,50,000 containers, mostly from Nepal, Bhutan and India’s Northern States which are landlocked places. The Hooghly River, where the port is located, experiences heavy siltation, reducing the navigable draft to six to seven metres from its original nine metres. This restricts the size and draft of vessels that can access the port. The lack of regular dredging further exacerbates the problem of fluctuating drafts. So, I would like to request the hon. Minister that to save the Kolkata Port, dredging of Hooghly River should be taken into consideration. At the same time, I would like to request the hon. Minister to take necessary steps for infrastructural development of the Kolkata Port along with all modern facilities. Dhamra, Mundra plus 12 other ports are operated by private companies. The company’s name is well-known. This is the Adani company. Our country has 34,000 miles of coastline. Despite that, we do not have large tanker ships; whereas small countries like Denmark, Japan are doing excellent work in the field of carriage of goods by sea. So, this is my one point. This Bill gives the current Government excessive power to regulate and control the transportation sector, leaving the State Governments, local bodies and small logistic businesses with no authority. By doing so, the federal structure of the country is being weakened. The Bill also introduces complex and unnecessary rules that small transporters and local businesses will find extremely hard to follow. These small operators will now have to meet the same high standards and regulatory requirements as large multinational companies, However, since small companies do not have the financial or technical capacity to meet these regulations, they will eventually be forced out of business. This move will benefit large logistic companies. The Government, instead of supporting small businesses, seems to be pushing them towards closure through heavy regulation. This clearly shows the Government’s lack of concern for small and medium enterprises, making it easier for large private corporations like Adanis to dominate the market. One of the biggest problems is that the Bill would significantly increase transportation cost across the country which will ultimately be passed on to customers. As a result, the price of essential items like grains, vegetables and other daily-use products will increase sharply, causing a rise in inflation. This will put a huge financial burden on lower and middle-income group. The Government has introduced provisions that allow private companies to operate major ports, cargo terminals and logistics infrastructure under the public-private partnership model. This means that large multinational companies will now control most of the logistic infrastructure leading to a monopoly in maritime logistics. Over a period of time, the public sector’s control over essential transportation will weaken, putting job security of port workers, affordability of transportation services, and State control at risk. The Government is pushing its privatization agenda under the excuse of modernisation, which will have long-term damaging effects on the economy and the common people. Another very concerning aspect is that the Bill grants legal immunity to large logistic companies in case of loss, damage, and delay of goods during transportation. This means that if a small trader’s goods get damaged or lost during transit, the large logistic companies will not be held accountable and the small traders will receive no compensation or legal protection. This provision is extremely unfair as it clearly favours big corporations … The Hague Rules of 1924 were amended by the Protocol signed in Brussels on 23rd February, 1968, and then, on 21st December, 1979 as Visby Rules. The schedule to the said Rules provides the Hague Rules …
