For development of Inland Water Transport (IWT) in the country, 111 waterways (including 5 existing and 106 new) spread over 24 States have been declared National Waterways (NWs) under the National Waterways Act, 2016. On the basis of outcome of techno-economic feasibility study and Detailed Project Report (DPR) of these NWs action plan has been formulated for 26 NWs which were found viable for cargo and passenger movement. At present, development initiatives have been taken up in the 20 NWs. The detail is at Annexure-I.

Major challenges for development of National Waterways include the varying and limited depths during lean season due to the excessive upstream withdrawal/utilization of water resulting in meandering and braiding of alluvial rivers, erosion of their banks causing excessive siltation, lack of cargo earmarked for IWT, non-mechanized navigation lock systems, insufficient unloading facility at terminals, horizontal and vertical clearance issues due to cross structures, first & last mile connectivity, lack of vessel financing options and apprehension of logistics and shipping market to shift in absence of policy support hinder the use of IWT by shippers.

Efforts made to overcome these challenges and to grow cargo movement through Inland Water Transport (IWT) are detailed at Annexure.-2.

There are 9 NWs exclusively in Karnataka & 3 inter-State NWs which have been declared under National Waterways Act, 2016. After feasibility/DPR studies of all these NWs, Kali river (NW-52), Sharavati river (NW-90) in Karnataka & Tungabhadra river (NW-104) in Karnataka, A.P. & Telangana have been found feasible for tourism & ferry services. Govt. has provided an amount of INR 2.7 crore for development of jetty infrastructure in Kali river (NW-52) through the State Govt.

 

Annexure.-1

 

LIST OF 26 NATIONAL WATERWAYS (NWs) PROJECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT

 

Sl. No. No	NW	Details of Waterways	Length (Km)	STATES	Status
1	NW 1	Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System (Haldia - Allahabad)	1620	Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal	Development taken up through Jal Marg Vikas Project
2	NW 2	Brahmaputra River (Dhubri - Sadiya)	891	Assam	Development taken up as per approved SFC for FY 2020-21 to 2024-25
3	NW 16	Barak River (Lakhipur -Tuker Gram)	121	Assam
4	NW 3	West Coast Canal (Kottapuram - Kollam), Champakara and Udyogmandal Canals	205	Kerala	Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up.
5	NW 4	Krishna River (Vijayawada – Muktyala)	82	Andhra Pradesh
6	NW 5	Dhamra-Paradip via Mangalagadi to Pankopal	233	Odisha
7	NW 8	Alappuzha- Changanassery Canal	29	Kerala
8	NW 9	Alappuzha - Kottayam – Athirampuzha Canal	40	Kerala (Alternate route: 11.5km)
9	NW 27	Cumberjua River (Cortalim-Ferry to Sao MartiasVidhanParisad)	17	Goa
10	NW 68	Mandovi River (Usgoan bridge to Arabian Sea)	41	Goa
11	NW 111	Zuari River (Sanvorden bridge to Marmugao Port)	50	Goa
12	NW 86	Rupnarayan River (PratapPur to Geonkhali)	72	West Bengal
13	NW 97	Sunderbans Waterway (Namkhana to AtharaBankiKhal)	172	West Bengal
14	NW 40	Ghagra River (Faizabad to ManjhiGhat)	345	Bihar & U.P.
15	NW 52	Kali River (Kodasalli Dam to Sadashivgad Bridge, Arabian Sea)	53	Karnataka
16	NW 44	Ichamati River (Bridge at Gobra to Bansjhari near Bangladesh Border)	63	West Bengal
17	NW 57	Kopili River (BanthaiGaonTinali Bus Stop to Chandrapur No.2 confluence with Brahmaputra)	50	Assam
18	NW 31	Dhansiri River (Morongi T.E. village Bridge to Numaligarh)	110	Assam
19	NW 10	Amba River (Arabian Sea, Dharamtaar Creek to Nagothane ST Stand)	45	Maharashtra

 

 

 

20	NW 28	Dabhol Creek Vasisti River (Arabian Sea at Dabhol to Bridge at Pedhe)	45	Maharashtra
21	NW 25	Chapora River (Bridge near Maneri village to Morjim, Arabian Sea)	25	Goa	Mostly Operational Waterways for development by 2030.
22	NW 37	Gandak River (Bhaisalotal Barrage to Hazipur)	296	Bihar & U.P.
23	NW 73	Narmada River (Pandhariya to Gulf of Khambhat)	226	Maharashtra & Gujarat
24	NW 85	Revadanda Creek - Kundalika River System (Arabian Sea at Revadanda to Bridge near Roha Nagar)	31	Maharashtra
25	NW 94	Sone River (Sone Barrage, Dehri to Confluence with the Ganga)	141	Bihar
26	NW 100	Tapi River (Hatnur Dam to Gulf of Khambhat)	436	Maharashtra & Gujarat

 

Annexure-2

STEPS TAKEN FOR GROWTH OF CARGO TRANSPORTATION ON WATERWAYS

 

INITIATIVES FOR GROWTH OF TRAFFIC ON NATIONAL WATERWAYS

i.   Fairway development works: Fairway development works to ensure LeastAvailable Depth (LAD) of 3.0 meter in Haldia-Barh, 2.5 meter in Barh-Ghazipur and2.2 meter in Ghazipur-Varanasi stretches on NW-1 have been taken up under the JalMarg Vikas Project (JMVP) which has been undertaken by IWAI with technical and financial assistance from World Bank. Similarly, to improve the connectivity between NW-1 and NW-2/NW-16 via the Indo Bangladesh protocol route, thecritical and shallow stretches between Sirajganj and Daikhowa on protocol routeNo1 & 2 and Ashuganj and Zakiganj on protocol rote no 3 &4 in Bangladesh arebeing jointly developed by India and Bangladesh for round the year navigability(with targeted LAD of 2.5 mtrs). Similarly, fairway development works have been taken up on NW-97 in Sunderbans to allow smooth navigation of vessels on theIndo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.

ii. Development of New National Waterways: IWAI has identified 26 new NWs through techno-economic feasibility studies forundertaking technical interventions to make the waterways navigable fortransportation purpose.

iii. Ro-Ro/Ro-Pax Service Commenced in Various National Waterways: The Operation of Ro-Ro / Ro-Pax vessels inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minsterduring February 2021 for the following routes:

Vessel Name	Ro-Ro/Ro-Pax Services between	Date of Inaugurationby Hon'ble PrimeMinister
MV Rani Gaidinliu& MV SachinDeve Barman	Neamati and Kamalabari (Majuli)	18.02.2021
MV JFR Jacob	Guwahati and North Guwahati	18.02.2021
MV Bob Khathing	Dhubri and Fakirganj (U/SHatsingimar)	18.02.2021
MV AdiShankara& MV C.V. Raman	Wellingdon Island and Bolghaty	14.02.2021

 

iv. Revision of Levy & Collection of Fees:Taking ahead the vision of the Government of India to promote Inland Waterways as a supplementary mode of transport, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has considered waiver of waterway user charges initially for a period of three years.

 

DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR EASE-OF-DOING BUSINESS

Following digital solution for ease of doing business has been introduced by IWAI:-

• CAR-D (Cargo Data) Portal
• PANI (Portal for Asset & Navigation Information)

 

ENHANCED REGIONAL TRADE USING IWT MODE

a. Addition of new Ports of Call and routes in India and Bangladesh under PIWT&T: With 7 new ports of call in addition to existing 6 on each side along with addition/ extension of 2 waterway routes in addition to existing 8 routes under PIWT&T between India and Bangladesh, the accessibility of IWT mode for trade between India and Bangladesh is expected to increase and result in growth of traffic on NWs.

b. Trade between Bhutan and Bangladesh: Stone exporters from Bhutan have identified Inland waterways as an alternate mode of transportation considering the benefits associated with waterways mode such as lower transportation cost, larger shipment size compared to road, avoiding congestion on land routes etc.

 

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOPS) FOR FACILITATING THE STAKEHOLDERS TO USE INLAND WATER TRANSPORT AND ACCESS THE VARIOUS INFORMATION RELATED TO NATIONAL WATERWAYS

The list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for various National Waterways is available at IWAI website.

STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS

       IWAI carried out stakeholder consultations at sixdifferent locations (Kolkata, Kochi, Mumbai, Patna, Goa and Dhaka) in FY-20, 9nos. during FY-21 and 06 nos.conference-cum-webinars in FY22 for cargopromotion.

• PM GatiShakti Multimodal Waterway Connectivity Summit held in Varanasi from 11^th -12^th November 2022.
• Flagging off of world’s longest river cruise and waterways development projects inaugurated and foundation stone was laid online by Hon’ble Prime Minister in the presence of Hon’ble Minister PSW, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on 1^3th January 2023 at Varanasi.

This information was given by the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

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