PUDUCHERRY: AIADMK State Secretary A. Anbalagan has called on the Puducherry government to renegotiate the 16-year-old agreement with the operators of Karaikal Port, citing significant financial losses due to its current terms.
He claimed that the government is losing approximately Rs 50 crore per month, amounting to Rs 600 crore annually, due to inadequate rental and concession fees paid by the private company managing the port.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, Anbalagan emphasised that regardless of which party is in power, "it is the government's duty to ensure it receives its rightful revenue." He stated that Karaikal Port, established in 2009 on 598 acres of government-owned land, was leased at a rate of just Rs 9,000 per acre per year, translating to Rs 52 lakh annually.
Additionally, the company pays only 2.6 per cent of its total revenue as a concession fee, amounting to around Rs 11 crore per year. Over 15 years, the company has paid a total of Rs 165 crore to the Puducherry government, which he argued is a fraction of what the government should rightfully earn.
Anbalagan accused the port’s previous owners of diverting revenue to other projects, leading to financial distress. This resulted in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) transferring the port’s control to the Adani Group. However, he criticised the Puducherry government for failing to renegotiate the agreement even after this change in ownership.
The AIADMK leader also pointed out that the port has contributed significantly to central government revenues, paying Rs 197.12 crore in service tax, Rs 303.38 crore in GST, and Rs 5,748.50 crore in customs duty from 2009 to 2024—totalling Rs 6,250 crore. However, since Puducherry is not included in the Central Finance Commission’s (CFC) allocations, it does not receive its fair share of the tax revenue generated from the port.
Anbalagan urged the Puducherry government to take immediate action to revise the agreement and secure a fair concession fee and rental income. "Renegotiating the contract could generate Rs 600 crore annually for the government," he estimated.
He also called on the administration to push for Puducherry’s inclusion in the CFC to secure its rightful share of tax revenues and questioned the government’s inaction on the issue.