There are 32 operational National Waterways (NWs) with navigable length of 5155 km throughout the country. Details of year-wise funds allocated and utilised for development of NWs during the last five years are given at Annexure-I.

                                                                                                                                  Annexure-I

Year-wise funds allocated and utilised for development of NWs during last five years

(Rs. in crore)

S. No.	National Waterways	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26*
1. (a)	NW-1 (Ganga Bhagirathi-Hooghly Rivers) in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal	87.83	66.25	163.38	97.72	98.36
1. (b)	Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP)	229.60	339.22	501.26	501.48	616.27
2.	NW-3 (West Coastal canal, kerala including NW-8 (Alapuzzha-Changonasser) & NW-9 (Alappuzha-Kottayam-Athirampuzha Canal) in Kerala	10.83	3.82	4.78	15.26	22.93
3.	Phase-1, NW-4 (Krishna River) in Andhra Pradesh)	3.08	0.18	0.67	1.22	18.28
4.	Phase-1, NW-5 (Mahanadi Delta Rivers in , Odisha	2.58	0.76	26.53	2.24	8.66
5.	Other Plan Schemes including new NWs-NW-27 (Cuberjua River), NW-68 (Mondavi River), NW-111 (Zuari) in Goa; NW-86 (Rupnarayan River) & NW-97 (Sunderbans Waterways) in West Bengal	13.47	4.36	11.25	33.48	77.52
6.	NW-2 (Brahmaputra River) & NW-16 (Barak River)	78.04	100.18	261.76	432.30	232.46
	Total	425.43	514.77	969.63	1083.70	1074.48

*Un-audited

 

Details of NW-wise cargo movement during the last five years in various States and ferry services currently operational are given in Annexure-II. State-wise details of passenger traffic handled on NWs and the number of terminals/ jetties are given at Annexure-III and Annexure-IV respectively.

                                                                                                                                 Annexure-II

Details of Cargo movement on NWs

(Cargo in Million Metric Tonnes)

National Waterways (NW)	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26
NW-1 [Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System (Haldia-Allahabad)]	10.93	13.17	12.82	16.38	84.78
NW-2 [(Brahmaputra River (Dhubri-Sadiya)]	0.43	0.63	0.59	0.90	1.29
NW-3 (West Coast Canal)	1.70	3.23	3.29	3.49	4.04
NW-4 (Krishna Godavari River Systems)	11.23	8.42	4.30	10.40	5.71
NW-5 (East Coast Canal And Matai River/Brahmani-Kharsua-Dhamra Rivers/Mahanadi Delta Rivers)	0.01	0.40	0.64	0.38	0.66
NW-8 (Alappuzha-Changanassery Canal)	-	0.03	0.04	0.04	0.04
NW-9 (Alappuzha-Kottayam Athirampuzha Canal)	-	0.02	0.02	0.03	0.03
NW-14 (Baitarni River)	-	-	0.00	-	0.03
NW-16 (Barak River)	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.18	0.27
NW-23 (Budha Balanga River)	-	0.03	0.02	0.02	0.02
NW-27 (Cumberjua River)	-	-	-	-	0.36
NW-31 (Dhansiri/Chathe River)	-	-	0.01	0.00	0.00
NW-44 (Ichamati River)	0.82	0.46	0.48	0.49	0.49
NW-47 (Jalangi River)	-	-	-	-	0.11
NW-48 (Jawai-Luni River and Rann of Kutch )	-	-	-	2.40	2.58
NW-53 (Kalyan-Thane-Mumbai Waterway, Vasai Creek And Ulhas River)	-	-	-	2.70	3.23
NW-57 (Kopili River)	-	-	-	-	0.00
NW-64 (Mahanadi River)	0.01	0.45	0.67	0.40	0.47
NW-86 (Rupnarayan River)	0.00	0.09	0.10	0.14	0.18
NW-94 (Sone River)	-	-	1.16	0.97	0.05
NW-97 (Sunderbans Waterway)	6.10	5.47	5.19	5.98	6.36
Sub Total (National Waterways 1,2,3,4,5,16,44,64,86,94,&97)	31.24	32.41	29.34	44.91	110.70
Maharashtra Waterways				-
NW-10 (Amba River)	20.23	28.54	30.17	29.69	31.07
NW-83 (Rajpuri Creek)	0.23	0.24	0.45	0.27	0.28
NW-85 (Revadanda Creek-Kundalika River System)	0.70	0.50	0.99	0.82	0.26
NW-91 (Shastri River - Jaigad Creek System)	22.45	33.87	37.05	32.64	34.41
Total Maharashtra Waterways	43.61	63.15	68.66	63.41	66.02
Goa Waterways				-
NW-68 (Mandovi River)	2.62	2.54	2.42	2.84	5.13
NW-111 (Zuari River)	1.96	0.39	1.10	1.32	1.57
Total Goa Waterways	4.58	2.93	3.52	4.16	6.70
Gujarat Waterways				-
NW-73 (Narmada River)	0.05	0.04	0.06	0.06	0.06
NW-100 (Tapi River)	29.32	27.62	31.46	33.31	34.75
Total Gujarat Waterways	29.37	27.66	31.51	33.36	34.81
GRAND TOTAL	108.79	126.15	133.03	145.84	218.24

                                                                                                                              Annexure-III

State wise number of passengers traffic handled on NWs

S. No.	NW Number	State(s)	2024-25	2025-26
1	NW-1	Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal	4,72,02,730	4,91,51,933
2	NW-2	Assam	50,71,938	88,67,999
3	NW-3	Kerala	1,05,23,478	1,11,19,541
4	NW-4	Andhra Pradesh	-	23,36,857
5	NW-5	Odisha	-	41,25,827
6	NW-8	Kerala	4,75,513	4,24,678
7	NW-9	Kerala	2,78,024	2,95,768
8	NW-10	Maharashtra	2,96,759	3,22,499
9	NW-14	Odisha	-	4,80,385
10	NW-16	Assam	20,06,940	37,38,567
11	NW-23	Odisha	-	76,567
12	NW-27	Goa	-	7,20,724
13	NW-40	Uttar Pradesh	-	14,339
14	NW-44	West Bengal	4,27,054	8,33,163
15	NW-47	West Bengal	-	87,188
16	NW-53	Maharashtra	24,40,300	31,70,252
17	NW-64	Odisha	-	4,61,567
18	NW-68	Goa	28,04,828	87,08,115
19	NW-83	Maharashtra	-	2,36,672
20	NW-86	West Bengal	7,13,113	9,39,412
21	NW-91	Maharashtra	-	1,02,425
22	NW-97	West Bengal	31,85,723	67,02,172
23	NW-100	Gujarat	3,25,900	3,50,914
24	NW-111	Goa	6,29,032	23,02,878
	Total		7,63,81,332	10,55,70,442

 

Ferry service is currently operational on 23 NWs viz., NW-1, NW-2, NW-3, NW-4, NW-5, NW-8, NW-9, NW-10, NW-14, NW-16, NW-23, NW-27, NW-44, NW-47, NW-53, NW-64, NW-68, NW-83, NW-86, NW-91, NW-97, NW-100 & NW-111.

Annexure-IV

List of permanent terminals / Floating Jetties / Landing Points on NWs

National Waterway -1
Permanent Terminals
1	Multimodal Terminal (MMT) Varanasi
2	Intermodal Terminal Kalughat
3	MMT Sahibganj
4	Garden Reach Jetty I, Kolkata
5	Garden Reach Jetty II, Kolkata
6	MMT Haldia
7	Farakka Jetty (of Farakka Barrage Project)
8.	Gaighat, Patna
9	Pakur Jetty (of Farakka Barrage Project)
Floating Jetties/ Landing Points
10	Chunar
11	Mirzapur
12	Ghazipur
13	Buxar
14	Doriganj
15	Chirand
16	Simaria
17	Munger
18	Sultanganj
19	Bateshwarsthan
20	Samtaghat
21	Jangipur
22	Murshidabad
23	Matiari
24	Kalna
25	Kolkata
26	Namkhana
27	Bhagabatpur
National Waterway-97
Floating Jetties/ Landing Points
28	Bali Island
29	Hemnagar (India)
National Waterway-2
Permanent Terminals
30	Pandu, Guwahati
31	Dhubri
Floating Jetties/ Landing Points
32	Jogighopa
33	Goalpara
34	Bagbor
35	Bohiri
36	Sualkuchi
37	North Guwahati
38	Machkowa
39	Fancy Bazar
40	Uzan Bazar
41	Mayong Pahar
42	Pobitora
43	Singri
44	Tezpur
45	Silghat (Kaziranga National Park)
46	Biswanath Ghat
47	Dhansiri Mukh
48	Bindhyakata
49	Gamir Ghat
50	Subansiri Mukh
51	Majuli Island
52	Neamati Ghat
53	Aplamukh
54	Sibsagar (Dikhomukh)
55	Bogibeel
56	Dibrugarh
57	Okland
58	Orium Ghat
59	Guizan
60	Saikhowa
61	Sadiya
National Waterway-3
Permanent Terminals
62	Kottapuram
63	Aluva
64	CSEZ Kakkanad
65	Maradu
66	Vaikkom
67	Thannermukkom
68	Alappuzha
69	Thrikunnappuzha
70	Kayamkulam
71	Chavara
72	Kollam
73	Bolgaty
74	Willingdon Island
National Waterway-16
Permanent Terminals
75	Badarpur
76	Karimganj
Community Jetties on NW-1
Uttar Pradesh
77	Ramnagar
78	Raj ghat
79	Kaithy
80	Balua ghat
81	Saidpur
82	Chochakpur
83	Zamania
84	Collector ghat
85	Ujiyar ghat (Bharauli)
86	Majhaua
87	Ravidas ghat
88	Ravidas ghat (Shifted from Samne Ghat)
89	Saraikota
90	Dungurpur
91	Kanspur
92	Ravidas Ghat
93	Namo Ghat-1
94	Namo Ghat-2
Bihar
95	Manihari
96	Tintanga
97	Kahalgaon
98	Aguani Ghat
99	Munger
100	Sultanganj
101	Digha, Bihar
102	Mithan Ghat
103	Kacchi Dargah
104	Mohanpur
105	Raghopur Diara
106	Nakta Diara
107	Nasiriganj
108	Panapur
109	Barh
110	Buxar
111	Mahuli Ghat
112	Karagola
113	Ayodhya ghat
114	Simariya
115	NIT Ghat
Jharkhand
116	Rajmahal (Manglaghat)
117	Samda Ghat
West Bengal
118	Dainhat
119	Matiary
120	Sankhai
121	Sathiati
122	Agardwip (Ghazipur site)
123	Agradip (Agradip site)
124	Ghoriapara-1
125	Ghoriapara-2
126	Talatala
127	Fakirdanga
128	Maniknagar
129	Maganpara
130	Narkelbaria
131	Plassey (Palasi)
132	Ramnagar
133	Lalbagh Court Ghat
134	Sadar Ghat
135	Berhampore (Gopal Ghat)
136	Berhampore (Khagra Ghat)
137	Saptarishi Ghat
138	Majherchar
139	Guptipara
140	Baranagar
141	Devipur
142	Bazarpada

 

Infrastructure and Policy measures taken to promote inland water travel, improve last-mile connectivity, ensure passenger safety, and enhance affordability and environmental sustainability are given at Annexure-V.

                                                                                                                                Annexure-V

Infrastructure and Policy measures taken to promote inland water travel, improve last-mile connectivity, ensure passenger safety, and enhance affordability and environmental sustainability

 

Infrastructure measures:

66 community jetties, 20 floating terminals, 3 Multi-Modal Terminals (MMT), 1 Inter-Modal Terminal (IMT) and 4 Ro-Pax terminals have been constructed on NW-1 in addition to 5 pre-existing permanent terminals.

13 floating terminals provided on NW-2 along with MMTs at Pandu, Jogighopa and terminals at Bogibeel and Dhubri. Four dedicated Jetties for cruise vessels have been provided at Jogighopa, Pandu, Biswanath Ghat and Neamati. In addition to this, Jetties for cruise and passengers have been constructed at Sadiya, Lyka and Orium Ghat in Assam.

2 existing terminals at Badarpur & Karimganj on NW-16 have been upgraded/ renovated and 1 terminal at Sonamura on Gumati river in Tripura on the IBP route has been constructed.

9 Permanent IWT terminals with godowns and 2 Ro-Ro/Ro-Pax terminals have been constructed on NW-3 in Kerala.

4 floating concrete jetties have been provided to the Govt. of Goa and installed on NW-68.

4 Tourist Jetties on NW-4 in Andhra Pradesh have been commissioned and 8 Floating Jetties on NW-110 in Mathura-Vrindavan stretch in Uttar Pradesh, 2 Jetties on NW-73 and 2 Jetties on NW-37 in Bihar have been established.

A new Navigation Lock at Farakka has been constructed.

2 Quick Pontoon Opening Mechanisms (QPOMs) have been constructed on NW-1 to facilitate smooth and faster movement of vessels.

Fairway maintenance works (river training, maintenance dredging, channel marking and regular hydrographic surveys) have been taken up in various National Waterways for providing a navigation channel of 35/45 m width and 2.0 / 2.2 / 2.5 / 3.0 m least available depth (LAD) for operation of vessels.

Policy Measures:

Jalvahak Scheme: A scheme for providing 35% incentive to promote the utilization of inland waterways transport sector by cargo owners and for scheduled service for cargo movement on NW-1 and NW-2 and NW-16 via IBP route by Inland & Coastal Shipping Limited (ICSL) has been approved by the Government. The scheme is implemented at a cost of INR 95.42 Crore for three years.

Tonnage tax: An extension of the tonnage tax scheme to inland vessels registered under the Indian Vessels Act, 2021 was announced during the budget presented on 01.02.2025. Inland vessels operating on NWs, rivers, and canals, will be benefited. This move is expected to boost the industry's competitiveness and encourage more cargo owners to use inland waterways for transportation. A tonnage tax system is a special taxation policy for shipping companies where tax is not based on actual profits but on the size (tonnage) of the vessel. It provides stable, predictable, and lower taxation for vessel owners, reducing their financial burden.

The National Waterways (Construction of Jetties / Terminals) Regulations 2025 has been notified, allowing private companies to invest and operate Inland Waterways infrastructure by providing a clear regulatory framework to attract private sector investment for facilitating the growth of inland waterways sector.

Jalyan & Navic : To increase ease of doing business in the IWT sector, along the same lines as ‘vahan’ and ‘sarathi’, a central data base and portal has been developed for registration of vessels and crew all over the country. This will facilitate registration of vessels and crew digitally and would also provide accurate status on the number of vessels and crew in the country and thus help in planning.

Cargo Aggregation : The cargo movement on the waterways suffer from problems of multimodality because of lack of industries along the waterways. Therefore, projects for development of cargo aggregation hub – MMLP at Varanasi and Integrated Cluster- cum-Logistics Park, Sahibganj have been taken up. NHLML, a PSU under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has been engaged for development of these MMLPs. The work of Rail connectivity for three MMTs has been assigned to M/s Indian Port and Rail Company Ltd. (a PSU under MoPSW).

IBP Route : Indo Bangladesh Protocol route no. 5 & 6 between Maia and Sultanganj has been operationalized recently with successful trial movements.

Shift of cargo by PSUs: For modal shift of cargo to waterways, more than 140 PSUs have been approached to plan their movement using IWT mode. They have been requested to outline their current status of cargo movement through the waterways and their plan for modal shift of cargo. Ministries of PNG, Co-operation, Fertiliser, Food & Public Distribution, Heavy industries, Steel and Coal have been requested to advise the PSUs under their jurisdiction to utilise IWT mode as far as possible and earmark certain percentage of their cargo for IWT mode keeping in line the MIV targets.

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

                                                                             ***
MI/Indu

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