A writ petition filed by the Tamil Nadu Power Producers Association at the Madras High Court has successfully obtained an interim stay, preventing a berth at Chennai's Jawahar Dock (East) being converted into a container terminal. The ruling was based on perceived hardship to private coal importers, who claimed that there was insufficient capacity at Ennore port to handle all the coal on offer.
Chennai had previously been forbidden by the same court from handling dusty cargo, such as coal and iron ore, which subsequently moved to Ennore, although this is now being reviewed by the Supreme Court.
Jawahar Dock (East) berth had previously been used to handle coal, although has been vacant following the move of such traffic to Ennore port. The port trust now wants the private sector to convert it to box handling as part of a 30-year concession. BC