In a relief for the Alang ship-breaking industry which had been facing a severe slump post-Covid, the state government has decided to extend the financial benefits for the sector. The number of ships coming to Alang had reduced from 219 in 2018-19 to 131 in 2022-23.
The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) had in March this year submitted a proposal for financial relaxation for the sector which has been approved by the state government. 
Accordingly, it has been decided to waive the housing cess of Rs 200 per sq.m. and development charges have been reduced by 50% from Rs 327 per sq.m to Rs 163.50 per sq.m. The government has also reduced the rates for Light displacement Tonnage (LDT) from Rs 135 to Rs 100 per LDT for Indian-flagged ships to be recycled.
The incentives would put an additional burden of Rs 30 crore on the state government for a year. 
A senior official of GMB said since the recycling charges were lower in neighbouring countries, the number of ships coming to Alang for dismantling was low. 
The ship recycling industry had also demanded a complete waiver of import duty and in February the Centre had accepted the same. 
The slump in Alang has resulted in low work on the ground for both businessmen and workers and the area which once buzzed with noises now often wears a deserted look.
Ketan Patel, who owns four yards for shipbreaking in Alang-Sosiya Yard, said at present shipbreaking is carried out in only 25 of the 183 shipbreaking yards. Most ships now go to Bangladesh instead of Alang as the former pays around $600 per tonne of scrap compared to the $515 to $520 per tonne offered by Alang businessmen, he said. 
Bangladesh, he said, can pay a higher price because scrap import is banned there, unlike India, and hence they are dependent only on recycled scrap.
 Haresh Parmar, Secretary of SRIA (Ship Recycling Industries Association) welcomed the government’s decision to reduce the shipping import duty by 2.5%. He said at present the ship scrap cannot be used for iron rods as the 20 years of material history is not available. 
Parmar added that PMO and Minister of Ports and Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya are working closely to find a solution. 
“If there is a breakthrough, it will mean a huge revival for the shipbreaking industry. More and more Indian recyclers are also expected to reap benefits of the Hong Kong Convention,” he said. According to Patel, if the GPCB and GMB work together towards downstream waste management and setting up trauma centres, it will be easier to comply with the Basel Convention.