Justice Ashish Jitendra Desai, former Chief Justice, Kerala High Court has been named the first Presiding Officer of the Adjudicatory Board set up under the Major Port Authorities Act, more than three years after the new law to govern the 11 state-owned ports came into force in November 2021.
Chirravuri Viswanath, former Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, and former Member, The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and Dr Sanjeev Ranjan, former Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and Technical Member, National Company Law Tribunal have been named members of the Adjudicatory Board.
The appointments of the Presiding Officer and two members of the Adjudicatory Board were cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Monday, according to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.
The Presiding Officer and the members will hold office for a period of five years or till attaining the age of 70 years, whichever is the earlier.
The Adjudicatory Board replaces the erstwhile Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP), the rate regulator for the 11 major ports, which was shut following the enactment of the new law to govern major ports.
The Adjudicatory Board’s functions include adjudicating disputes between major ports and Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) operators, appraising and reviewing stressed PPP projects as well as suggesting measures for their revival and handling complaints from port users on the services provided by major ports or private operators.
The Major Ports Adjudicatory Board Rules, 2023, were notified by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways in the Gazette on January 17, 2023.
According to the Major Port Authorities Act, the Adjudicatory Board will consist of a Presiding Officer and two members. The Presiding Officer will be a retired Judge of the Supreme Court or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court, and the two members shall either be a retired Chief Secretary of a State Government or equivalent or a retired Secretary of the Government of India or equivalent.
The Presiding Officer and members of the Adjudicatory Board are appointed on the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of the Chief Justice of India or his nominee, Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training and Secretary of Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, per the Major Port Authorities Act.
(source: ET Infra)
