No proposal to bifurcate DG Shipping: Baalu

New Delhi, Mar 1 (UNI) The government today denied that it was considering a proposal to bifurcate the Directorate General of Shipping.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Shipping Minister T R Baalu said the government had initiated several steps to modernise and streamline the functioning of the Mercantile Marine Departments, which had been reoriented to shift focus from the role of regulator to facilitator.

Mr Baalu said part of statutory functions had been delegated to the recognised organisations and e-Governance introduced to further streamline various statutory functions discharged by Mercantile Marine Departments (MMDs).

In addition, additional staff has been sanctioned and new regional and district level offices of Mercantile Marine Departments have been set up. Also, the workload generated by the expanding marine training has been reviewed to streamline and systematise the work of inspections, approvals, admissions and examinations to ensure transparency, responsibility and the maintenance of the higher standards of quality.

The minister said the Right to Information Act had been implemented in letter and spirit, ensuring greater transparency to public.

There is a well laid down redressal mechanism which includes on-line submission of grievances directly to the Directorate General of Shipping. Besides, Citizen's Charter has been displayed on the web site.

UNI