Relevance:
Chairman of Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) stated India eyes ₹35,000 Crores investments by 2047 to create waterways network that will include developing waterways and jetties to improve navigable capacity of Indian rivers.
Inland waterways:
- India has an extensive network of inland waterways in form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks that may supplement over-burdened railways and congested roadways.
- To promote Inland Water Transport (IWT), 111 waterways (only 13 NWs are operational) have been declared as National Waterways (NWs) under National Waterways Act, 2016.
- Benefits – Eco-friendly and cheaper (less fuel consumption per tonne-km), better connectivity to hinterland, require relatively less maintenance etc.
- Challenges – Decreased water flow due to industrial, agricultural and other uses, inadequate water channel depth, Excessive Siltation, low technology adaption etc.
- Measures Taken –
- Inland Waterways Authority of India Act, 1985
- Indian Vessels Act of 1917 (as revised in 2007)
- Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) aims at capacity augmentation of navigation on National Waterway-1 (NW-1), along the river Ganga.
- Project Arth Ganga to revitalise economic activity in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
- Sagarmala Project aims to expand inland waterways to drive industrial development.
- National River Linking Project (NRLP)
- Recent initiatives –
- PANI (Portal for Asset & Navigation Information) provides detailed information on various waterways.
- CAR-D (Cargo Data) Portal, a web based portal for all cargo and cruise movement data of NWs.
- Ro-Ro/Ro-Pax Service Commenced in Various NWs.
- World’s Longest River Cruise-MV Ganga Vilas (From Varanasi, UP to Dibrugarh, Assam via Bangladesh) with an aim to boost river cruise tourism.
Inland Waterways Authority of India:
- Established – 1986
- Aim – For the development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.
- It primarily undertakes projects for development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grants received from the Ministry of Shipping.
- Headquarters – Noida (Uttar Pradesh)
Reference: Economic Times
