Susanta Kumar Purohit Gets Additional Charge Of Paradip Port Authority

Susanta Kumar Purohit, Chairperson of V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority in Tuticorin, has assumed additional charge as Chairperson of Paradip Port Authority in Odisha, according to an order issued by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

Paradip Port is one of India's major ports on the eastern coast, handling significant cargo volumes in iron ore, coal, petroleum products and fertiliser raw materials for industries across eastern and central India. The Chairperson's role covers overall administration of the port trust, including cargo handling operations, capacity expansion projects and coordination with the shipping lines and industrial users that depend on the port for bulk cargo movement.

Purohit's substantive charge at V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority, one of the major ports on India's southern coastline, gives him experience managing a port with a different cargo profile centred on container and general cargo traffic, exposure the Ministry may be looking to bring to Paradip's bulk-cargo-heavy operations through this additional charge arrangement.

Additional-charge appointments of this kind are a routine mechanism the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways uses to keep major port trusts administratively staffed between substantive Chairperson appointments, allowing an experienced port administrator to oversee a second port without the delay a fresh recruitment process would involve.

The Ministry said the move is intended to strengthen infrastructure development, cargo handling efficiency, connectivity and green-port initiatives at Paradip, pointing to ongoing capacity expansion and environmental compliance work at the port as priorities for the additional charge period.

Paradip's green-port initiatives have included efforts to reduce dust pollution from bulk cargo handling and improve rail and road connectivity to its hinterland, work that will now fall under Purohit's oversight alongside his existing responsibilities in Tuticorin.

Purohit will hold the additional charge at Paradip Port Authority until a substantive Chairperson is appointed, continuing to serve as Chairperson of V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority in parallel.