The Union Budget has once again referred to India’s state-owned major ports as “trusts”, despite Parliament having replaced that framework with a new legal structure more than four years ago under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021.
The law, notified on February 18, 2021, converted 11 of the 12 major ports into autonomous “authorities”, granting them greater operational and financial flexibility. Yet, in the Budget documents, ports such as Cochin, Paradip, V O Chidambaranar, Jawaharlal Nehru, New Mangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Deendayal (Kandla), Mormugao and Visakhapatnam continue to be described as “port trusts” under the repealed Major Port Trusts Act, 1963.
As in previous years, the Budget provides no direct budgetary support to 11 of the 12 major ports, requiring them to rely on Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) — funds raised through internal accruals and borrowings — to finance capital expenditure. This may explain why the outdated nomenclature has persisted, though it sits uneasily with the legal position.
There is one partial exception. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, is mentioned without being labelled either a “trust” or an “authority”. The port has been allocated ₹150 crore as a subsidy for maintenance dredging of the Haldia Channel and River Hooghly to ensure navigability for ships.
In another anomaly, the Budget has earmarked ₹11.15 crore for the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP), even though the regulator was formally wound up after the conversion of major ports into authorities. TAMP ceased to exist last year following the notification of the Adjudicatory Board for Major Ports, which now handles disputes between ports and PPP operators, reviews stressed projects and addresses user complaints.
The Budget also continues to misclassify Kamarajar Port Ltd as “Kamarajar Port Trust”, despite the port having operated as a company under the Companies Act for nearly 25 years. Originally set up as Ennore Port Ltd, Kamarajar Port is excluded from the Major Port Authorities Act, as bringing it under the authority framework was deemed a “retrograde” step.
Kamarajar Port Ltd ceased to be a central public sector undertaking in March 2020 after the government sold its two-thirds stake to Chennai Port Authority. Despite this government-to-government disinvestment, the port has retained its corporate structure and is governed by a board, chaired by the Chairman of Chennai Port Authority. The government has repeatedly told Parliament that there is no proposal to convert Kamarajar Port Ltd into either a port authority or a port trust.
The continued use of obsolete or incorrect legal descriptions in the Union Budget has raised questions about the care taken in drafting official documents. While it may be a budgeting gaffe, repeatedly assigning defunct or inaccurate legal identities to state-owned ports — particularly to Kamarajar Port Ltd — has been seen as poor form and at odds with the government’s own port reform agenda.
