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Bengal

KoPT gearing up to turn its port green

Kolkata: The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is taking a slew of measures for turning its port area into a green one and at the same time focus on the ease of doing business.
"We have given work to West Bengal Wasteland Development Corporation for developing a 7,000 sq metre area inside the premises of Netaji Subhas Dock into a green area," KoPT chairman Vinit Kumar said.
The chairman maintained that this area within the NS dock will be developed in patches as the port intends to do more and more of this green development.
"We have recently commissioned two rooftop solar plants totaling 140 kilowatts. One has been set up at Subhas Bhavan while another has been set up at the Port Hospital," he said.
It may be mentioned that KoPT is also planning to conduct energy audits in its dock.
Talking about its initiative towards ease of doing business, the chairman said that they will soon reduce documentation to a minimum for this purpose.
"At present, the user has to come with a lot of documents. The trucks that come also need a lot of documentation. We have checked with some other ports and have found that we are still doing a large amount of paperwork, which can be eliminated. We are reducing it and soon applications and clearances will be made online," Kumar added.
It may be mentioned that a team from KoPT has recently paid a visit to Tuticorin port and have found out that they are doing excellent work on ease of doing business.
KoPT is also gearing up to introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system in Kolkata docks.
An RFID tag will be attached to the cargo which will specify monetary and other quantitative and qualitative details which the ports can read and capture information using radio signals. "All containers coming in the port premises will have RFID tags and people coming to ports will also have RFID-based permits," Kumar said.
The port authorities are also digitising and streamlining the monetary processes involved in cargo handling, right from arriving at the port till dispatch, which it hopes will bring in more transparency and reduce costs.
It is estimated that the effective cost for cargo handling in Kolkata and Haldia is 25-40 per cent higher when compared to the Vizag or Chennai ports due to multiple layers of agent intervention.
Haldia Dock Complex under KoPT has already started the RFID process which had eased business a lot.

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