Calcutta, May 21: Cargo economics is again churning the Haldia dock but this time, shifting political undercurrents are also at play.

The Calcutta Port Trust (CPT) is considering a proposal to reject the lowest bid for mechanised handling of cargo at two Haldia port berths that were vacated by a company whose exit last year had compounded the industrialisation woes of Bengal.

The CPT’s board of trustees is scheduled to meet on May 27 to take the final decision on cancelling the bid submitted by OSL-IRC Enterprises, a joint venture of a group with a wide reach on the east coast.

OSL-IRC had taken part in a CPT tender to fill the vacuum left by the pullout of Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT), a joint venture with French investments. HBT had withdrawn after alleging abduction of its employees and citing the inability of the port management to provide the guaranteed quantity of cargo.

Allegations were levelled then that a large chunk of the cargo, whose volume was shrinking because of global economic factors and a water-level problem at Haldia, was being diverted to entrenched manual handlers, which included a company associated with former and current Trinamul Rajya Sabha MPs.

Ripley, one of the manual operators, is associated with Swapan Sadhan (Tutu) Bose, a former Trinamul Rajya Sabha MP. His son Srinjoy Bose, whose name figured in the purported letter Saradha boss Sudipta Sen wrote to the CBI, is now in the Rajya Sabha as a Trinamul nominee.

A counter-charge was that HBT had bid too low and was looking for an excuse to pull out. The matter is in arbitration now. The upshot on the ground was chief minister Mamata Banerjee held a flop business show in Haldia and the cargo of the two berths also went to the manual operators.

Against such a backdrop, the latest proposal to cancel the lowest bid — on the ground that it was not low enough —has stirred controversy. If the bid is indeed scrapped, it will be the second such instance after the departure of HBT. (See chart)

However, two new factors have entered the picture this time.

One, Subhendu Adhikari, the Trinamul MP with considerable clout in Haldia, is backing mechanised cargo- handling, unlike last time when he was thought to be siding with the manual operators. “If the trustees of the port have discharged the tender process after selecting the L1 (lowest bidder), it is extremely unfortunate,” Subhendu said today.

Two, OSL-IRC is no pushover. The OSL Group, owned by Mahimananda Mishra, has long experience in stevedoring and cargo handling on the east coast.

Sources said the group, which handles 35 million tonnes of cargo at various ports, had so far been resisting the CPT’s attempts to lower the rate to Rs 140-150 a tonne from Rs 173. The CPT, which would have got even higher returns had it persuaded HBT to stay back, has sought permission from a watchdog to raise the rates it charges ships.

If the OSL-IRC bid is accepted, the worst hit will be the manual operators as the bid winner has been assured of 20,000 tonnes of cargo a day. “Given the dip in cargo in Haldia port, the volume remaining for other cargo handlers like Ripley will be very low and that seems to be one of the reasons behind the attempts to discharge the tender,” said a source.

The approach of the Adhikari family to the mechanisation of the two berths has stoked comment in Haldia.

According to Subhendu, the mechanisation of berths 2 and 8 is “key” to the survival of Haldia port. “The problem, however, is with the Calcutta Port authorities as no one from Haldia or the Haldia port has any representation there. So, there is no one to look after the interest of Haldia port,” Subhendu added.

A source said: “He (Subhendu) has realised that mechanised operation at the port will be beneficial as this will give him the chance to provide employment to the retrenched HBT workers. The loss of jobs following the HBT pullout did not do any good to his image.”

That Subhendu chose to describe any cancellation as “unfortunate” ahead of the meeting of the board of trustees, some of whose members are associated with the Boses, is being seen as a reflection of the change in equations.