The Federation For Peoples Rights (FPR) here today urged the administration to terminate the Port Development Agreement entered into with a private firm, in the wake of the Centre filing an appeal petition in the Supreme Court to recall or modify it’s earlier judgment delivered in the Puducherry Port Development case.
In a statement here, Federation Secretary G Sugumaran said the administration evolved a plan to develop the existing port and entered into an agreement with a private firm with an estimated cost of Rs 2,600 crore in 2005 and transferred 153 acres of it’s land around the existing site without obtaining the permission of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Since, the people believed that their fundamental right of existence would be in question, they organised massive agitations against the project following which the administration announced that the port project would be kept in abeyance.
Following the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court judgments on the case, the administration announced that it would execute the port project. At this juncture, the Centre preferred an appeal petition in the Supreme Court to recall or modify it’s decision delivered earlier.
In the wake of infirmities and gross violation of the statutory provisions in awarding the contract in the project, the administration should terminate the agreement, Mr Sugumaran said.
UNI / 17.12.2009
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