The Major Port Authorities Act, 2021

(1) This Act may be called the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021. (2) It shall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification, in the Official Gazette, appoint. (3) It shall apply to the Major Ports of Chennai, Cochin, Deendayal (Kandla), Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva), Kolkata, Mormugao, Mumbai, New Mangalore, Paradip, V.O. Chidambaranar (Tuticorin) and Visakhapatnam.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) “Adjudicatory Board” means the Board constituted by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 54; (b) “Board” means the Board of Major Port Authority constituted by the Central Government in accordance with sub-section (1) of section 3 for each Major Port under this Act; (c) “capital reserves” for the purpose of this Act, shall mean the total of the reserves excluding the reserves set forth in sub-section (1) of section 43 and the value of the current assets of the Board in the preceding financial year; (d) “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Board appointed under sub-section (1) of section 4; (e) “Deputy Chairperson” means the Deputy Chairperson of the Board appointed under subsection (1) of section 4; (f) “dock” includes all basins, locks, cuts, entrances, graving docks, graving blocks, inclined planes, slipways, gridirons, moorings, transit-sheds, warehouses, tramways, railways and other works and things appertaining to any dock, and also the portion of the sea enclosed or protected by the arms or groynes of a harbour; (g) “foreshore”, in relation to a Major Port, means the area between the high-water mark and the low-water mark relating to that Major Port; (h) “goods” includes livestock and every kind of movable property; (i) “grave emergency” means a condition as determined by the Central Government wherein the Board is unable to discharge its duties appropriately and includes acts of sedition, nonperformance, unlawful and illegal actions, negligence and financial misappropriation; (j) “high-water mark”, in relation to a Major Port, means a line drawn through the highest points reached by ordinary spring-tides at any season of the year at that Major Port; (k) “immovable property” includes wharfage-rights and all other rights exercisable on, over, or in respect of, any land, wharf, dock or pier;(l) “Independent Member” means a Member of the Board appointed under sub-section (2) of section 4; (m) “Indian Ports Act” means the Indian Ports Act, 1908 (15 of 1908); (n) “land” includes the bed of the sea or river below high-water mark, and also things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth; (o) “low-water mark”, in relation to a Major Port, means a line drawn through the lowest points reached by ordinary spring-tides at any season of the year at that Major Port; (p) “Major Port” or “Major Port Authority” means the Major Port as defined in clause (8) of section 3 of the Indian Ports Act; (q) “Major Port approaches”, in relation to a Major Port, means those parts of the navigable rivers and channels leading to the Major Port, where the Indian Ports Act is in force; (r) “master”, in relation to any vessel or any aircraft making use of any Major Port, means any person having for the time being the charge or control of such vessel or such aircraft, as the case may be, except a pilot, harbour master, assistant harbour master, dock master or berthing master of the Major Port; (s) “Member” means the Member of the Board appointed under sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 4; (t) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the expression “notify” and “notified” shall be construed accordingly; (u) “Presiding Officer” means the Presiding Officer of the Adjudicatory Board appointed by the Central Government under section 55; (v) “owner”, -- (i) in relation to goods, includes any consignor, consignee, shipper or agent for the sale, custody, loading or unloading of such goods; and (ii) in relation to any vessel or any aircraft making use of any Major Port, includes any partowner, charterer, consignee, or mortgagee in possession thereof;(w) “pier” includes any stage, stairs, landing place, hard, jetty, floating barge, transhipper or pontoon and any bridges or other works connected therewith. Explanation.-- For the purposes of this clause, the term “transhipper” means a floating craft or vessel, whether dumb or self-propelled, on which gears are provided for discharging cargo from a barge or wharf and loading it into a ship; (x) “port assets” means any asset within the port limits including land, movable or immovable property or any other property, whether tangible or intangible, owned by or vested with the Board through the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be; (y) “port limits” in relation to a Major Port, means the limits including any piers, jetties,landing-places, wharves, quays, docks and other works made on behalf of the public forconvenience of traffic, for safety of vessels or for the improvement, maintenance or goodgovernance of the Major Port and its approaches whether within or without high-water mark, and subject to any rights of private property therein, any portion of the shore or bank within fifty yards of high-water mark and the area of such Major Port as may be determined by the Central Government by way of notification from time to time; (z) “port related use” means any use directly or indirectly related to port operations andactivities; (za) “port securities” means the debentures, bonds or stock certificates issued by the Board inrespect of any loan contracted by it under the provisions of this Act or issued by any otherAuthority for the payment of which the Board is liable under this Act; (zb) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (zc) “Public Private Partnership project” means the projects taken up through a concessioncontract entered into by the Board under sub-section (1) of section 24; (zd) “rate” includes any toll, due, rent, rate, fee, or charge leviable under this Act; (ze) “regulations” means the regulations made by the Board under this Act; (zf) “vessel” includes anything made for the conveyance, by water, of human beings or ofgoods; and (zg) “wharf” includes any wall or stage and any part of the land or foreshore that may be usedfor loading or unloading goods, or for the embarkation or disembarkation of passengers and any wall enclosing or adjoining the same. (2) Words and expressions used but not defined in this Act and defined in the Indian Ports Actshall have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act.

(1) The Central Government shall, within a period of ninety days from the date of commencement of this Act, by notification, in respect of each Major Port, constitute a Board called the Board of Major Port Authority for that Major Port which shall consist of the following Members, namely: (a) a Chairperson; (b) a Deputy Chairperson; (c) one Member each from the (i) concerned State Government in which the Major Port is situated; (ii) Ministry of Railways; (iii) Ministry of Defence; and (iv) Customs, Department of Revenue; (d) not less than two and not exceeding four Independent Members; (e) one Member not below the rank of Director nominated by the Central Government, ex officio; and (f) two Members representing the interests of the employees of the Major Port Authority: Provided that until the constitution of the Board of Major Port Authority, the Board of Trustees constituted under section 3 of the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 (38 of 1963) shall continue to function and shall cease to exist immediately after the constitution of the Board under this Act. (2) The Board of each Major Port Authority constituted under this Act shall be a permanent body having perpetual succession and a common seal with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to acquire, hold or dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and to contract, and shall, by the said name, sue or be sued.

(1) The Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Board shall be appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of such persons and in such manner, as may be prescribed. (2) The Members of the Board as mentioned in clauses (c), (d) and (e) of sub-section (1) of section 3 shall possess such qualifications and experiences and shall be appointed by the Central Government in such manner as may be prescribed. (3) The Members referred to in clause (f) of sub-section (1) of Section 3 shall be appointed by the Central Government from amongst serving employees of the Board of Major Port Authority in such manner as may be prescribed after obtaining the opinion of the trade unions, if any, composed of persons employed in the Major Port and registered under the Trade Unions Act, 1926 (16 of 1926). (4) Every person nominated or appointed to the office of the Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson or Member of the Board, shall, within thirty days of his nomination or appointment, furnish to the Board his consent and a declaration that he is not disqualified or ineligible or has conflict of interest to hold such office.

(1) A person shall not be eligible for appointment or to continue as a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson or Member of the Board, if (a) he has been adjudged as an insolvent; (b) he has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as such Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson or Member; (c) he has been convicted of an offence, involving moral turpitude;(d) he holds an office of profit; (e) he has made a false declaration under sub-section (4) of section 4; (f) he has been removed or dismissed from the service of a Major Port Authority, Government or a body corporate owned or controlled by the Central Government or the State Government; or (g) an order disqualifying him for appointment as a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson or Member has been passed by a court or tribunal and such order is in force. (2) The Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson or any other Member shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the Central Government on the ground of his proved misbehaviour or incapacity or in contravention of the provisions of section 7 after the Central Government, has, on an inquiry, held in accordance with the procedure prescribed in this behalf by the Central Government, come to the conclusion that the Member ought on any such ground to be removed. (3) The Central Government may suspend the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson or any other Member in respect of whom an inquiry under sub-section (2) is being initiated or pending till the Central Government has passed an order on receipt of the report of the inquiry.