Cuttack, Sept. 15: The Orissa government today accused the Calcutta Port Trust (CPT) of going ahead with plans to start transloading operations at Kanika Sands Island “in blatant disregard of Orissa High Court order”.

Additional secretary of the commerce and transport department Sitanath Rath filed a petition in the high court seeking order restraining the CPT and the Union ministry of shipping from proceeding with plans to construct a transloading terminal at Kanika Sands Island within Orissa territory.

“The CPT, which was planning to build a transloading terminal at Kanika Sands Island, had received bids from a consortium led by the Shipping Corporation of India, the Adanys, the Gammon and the Transtroy. The CPT was expecting an approval from the shipping ministry soon and an agreement would be signed by December,” the petition pointed out citing newspaper reports.

“In the event of such agreement for building transloading facilities between the CPT and the proposed bidders, the interests of Orissa will be adversely affected and further third party interests are likely to be created thereby defeating purpose of the high court interim orders,” Rath said.

The Keonjhar Nava Nirman Parishad filed a PIL challenging the revised limit of the Calcutta Port that extends well into the Orissa territory.

On May 5, Orissa High Court issued notices to the Centre and the CPT and directed secretary of the shipping department and the CPT “not to precipitate the matter”. The interim order was subsequently extended till further orders.

Dhamra Port Company Limited also filed an affidavit making similar allegations and accusing the CPT of attempting to start transloading operations within the extended limits by renaming the “Kanika Sands Islands as Western Sandheads”.

“Kanika Sands is an island of Orissa within the Dhamra port limits and at least 100km south west of Sandheads, which is a part of the original port limits of the Calcutta Port,” the affidavit contended.

Taking note of it, the two-judge bench of Chief Justice Gopala Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra today sought a clarification from the CPT on the alleged violation of the court order and postponed hearing to next week.

Citing reports about the CPT receiving bids from four parties for undertaking transloading operations, secretary of the Dhamra Port Tanmay Kumar Sahu said: “CPT authorities have been issuing press statements which are tantamount to overreach the interim order of Orissa High Court.”

Secretary of the Parishad Dillip Kumar Mohapatra had filed the PIL seeking quashing of the notification issued on November 19, 2010 allowing the CPT to extend its limit into the already notified limits of Bichitrapur, Subarnarekha mouth, Bahabalpur, Inchudi, Chandipur, Chudamani and Dhamra ports of Orissa.