BackServing bureaucrats can head port tariff regulator
Serving bureaucrats can head port tariff regulator
PremiumIncreasing options: Mumbai port. The appointments committee will now also consider IAS officers for the top tariff regulatory post. Ashesh Shah / Mint
Bangalore: In a change of track, India could allow serving Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers to appear as candidates to head the port tariff regulatory body that sets prices for services provided at 11 of the 12 Union government-owned ports in the country, a top shipping ministry official said.
“This arrangement will continue till 30 June," the official said on condition of anonymity. The chairman of TAMP is appointed for five years with an age limit of 65 years.
Earlier, the appointments committee of cabinet (ACC) had said that IAS officers working in a particular ministry would not be considered to head a regulatory body related to that ministry. As a result, the candidature of former shipping secretary A.K. Mohapatra and former chairperson of Mumbai Port, Rani Jadhav, were not considered.
If a serving IAS officer is selected by ACC to head TAMP, the bureaucrat will have to quit the service to take up the new role, the official added.
The latest ACC directive came after it rejected the name of Santish Nautiyal, a retired IAS officer, to head TAMP.
The 12 ports together handled 530 million tonnes of cargo in the year to March, accounting for some 70% of the cargo handled at all the ports in the country.
p.manoj@livemint.com
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