India News | LS Members Question Lower Allocation to Sagarmala

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) Lok Sabha members on Thursday voiced concern over the low budgetary allocation for the government's flagship Sagarmala programme, contending that it would take several decades to implement the Rs 8.5 lakh crore project.

Participating in the debate on the demands for grants of the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, members including Veeraswamy Kalanidhi (DMK) and Protima Mandal (TMC) said the meagre allocation of Rs 750 crore for Sagarmala suggests that the government's flagship project could be completed only by 2070.

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Kalanidhi also questioned the development of the Kattupalli cargo port, north of Chennai contending that the Chennai and Ennore ports nearby were operating at 40 per cent of their capacity.

Mandal said the lower budgetary allocations to the Sagarmala project would only lead to greater private participation in the development of ports.

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Mandal also cautioned about the environmental degradation along the coastline due to massive development of ports.

BJP member Dilip Saikia listed out the achievements of the government saying that India's ranking in trading across borders improved from 132 in 2014 to 68 in 2020.

Saikia said the cargo handling capacity of major ports nearly doubled to 1560 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) from 800 MMTPA in 2014, while non-major ports were now handling 1,000 MMTA cargo every year as against 689 MMTPA in 2014.

He said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi the number of inland waterways increased from five in 2014 to 111 in 2021.

BJD member Anubhav Mohanty expressed dismay at the delay in release of funds under Sagarmala.

Initiating the debate, Congress member T N Prathapan wanted the government to make timely interventions to ensure the release of fishermen detained by countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Seychelles.

He referred to the haul of nearly 3000 kg of heroin pegged at Rs 21,000 crore from the Mundra Port in Gujarat, and questioned the security measures taken at private ports.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)