Goa has stepped back from setting up a state maritime board, as proposed by the Ministry of Shipping, citing several reasons. Apart from the Panaji Port, hardly any activity is taking place in the non-major ports of the state. Shorter coastline of the state vis-à-vis other maritime states, low volume of cargo traffic in the inland rivers, as well as the financial burden of maintaining the maritime board have been cited as some of the major reasons for opting out from setting a state maritime board.
The exemption request was made during a meeting held on August 20, called by the Sagarmala cell of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, New Delhi. The request is yet to be accepted by the central ministry, said Octavio Rodrigues, Captain of Ports in Goa. Rodrigues said that states that have maritime boards such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, etc have lengthy coastlines above 500 km with several revenue earning ports.
