Major Port Trust Act, 1963, to be replaced

The Ministry of Shipping has prepared a draft bill 'The Central Port Authorities Act' 2016 ' to replace the 'Major Port Trust Act, 1963'. The salient features of the new Bill are: Composition of board has been simplified; the board will consist of nine members including three to four independent members instead of 17-19 under the Port Trust Model. Provisions have been made for inclusion of three functional heads of Major Port as members in the board, apart from a government nominee member and a labour nominee member. Also, the disqualification of the appointment of the members of the board, duties of the members and provision of the meetings of the board through video conferencing and other visual means have been introduced on the lines of the Companies Act, 2013.