No response to 'separate ministry for cargo movement' proposal: BCCI

Mumbai, Apr 7 (UNI) The proposal of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce&Industry (BCCI) to set up a separate 'ministry of intermodal cargo transport&logistics' in the country, submitted to the Planning Commission, is yet to evoke any favourable response.

The recommendation, which was one among the many suggestions of a white paper -'An integrated policy for cargo movement in India'- brought out by BCCI to reorient the strategy and administrative framework in order to execute a seamless movement of cargo in the country, was handed over to Anwarul Hoda, member of Planning Commission on October 17 by a special delegation of BCCI, only to be reverted with utter negligence, alleged C R Nambiar, Chairman of the shipping, transport&logistics committee of the BCCI in an interview with UNI.

''The movement of consignments via sea, land and air routes in India has been badly affected by the absence of a common thread in the decision making process. The current multiplicity of ministries and departments has made it a costly and time consuming task to coordinate the policies concerning the inter-modal cargo movement.'', Nambiar said.

The 'laxity of officials' and the 'political resistance' against the implementation of the progressive concept, have brought the white paper and the contained recommendations to nowhere in the scene, alleged Nambiar.

''A common misconception regarding the formation of the new Cargo Ministry was about the administrative costs and additional bureaucracy needed by the initiative. But the recommendations had simply implied the restructuring of the existing Ministry of Shipping&Road Transport, where all the existing relevant departments-presently under various ministries-handling cargo movement could be brought under single roof.'' The paper had also put forward the creation of a Unified Cargo Information Base (UCIB) to act as an end-to-end information system across the ports, ICDs, CFSs, airports, railway terminals, warehouses, cargo hubs, checkposts&entry-points in the country made available on a single window.

''The UCIB could have been an effective apparatus enhancing the efficiency of cargo projections and also an aid in planning the development of supportive infrastructure. It could have also function as a nodal trade facilitation agency imparting international co-operation for data exchange and channel technical&financial issues,'' he added.

The Indian cargo movement, where a target of USD 125 billion had been projected as the annual revenue target by the Ministry of Commerce in the last financial year, is experiencing a serious dearth of intermodal connectivity constantly demanding the installation of a coordinated mechanism in the sector, said Nambiar.

The Chamber, in its white paper had also observed that the need to oversee the cargo movements across the country can be effectively monitored only by a separate ministerial set-up and had ruled out the role of Planning Commission to act as an aid in bringing the inter-modal connectivity gap by developing supporting infrastructure through planned allocation resources.

''Such a move won't be a viable one as the decision making authority rests with different ministries or departments,'' it added.

UNI