Lok Sabha Question No. 3447 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-15
Subject: Development of Inland Waterways
Ministry: SHIPPING
Asked by: RAJIV PRATAP RUDY

## GOVERNMENT  OF INDIA MINISTRY.OF  SHIPPING

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.3447 TO BE ANSWERED  ON 1sth MARCH,2O18

## DEVELOPMENT  OF INLAND WATERWAYS

## 3447. SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

Will the Minister of SHIPPING be  pleased to state:

## q\-dqft-qEad*

- (a)  whether the Government  has assessed the impact of siltation  in the development of inland  wateruays  and the estimated  loss due to this;
- (b)ifso,thedetailsthereofalongwiththeremedialmeasurestaken/beingtakenby the Government  in this regard;
- (c) the details  of the cargo and  passenger  traffic through  inland  waterways  along with the financral "td;;;;;l;fo-r the developmLnt  of inland  waterwavs  durlng the last four years and the current  year' year-wise; and
- (d) the steps  taken/being  taken by the Government  to improve the transportation  of freight through  inf ani *"tet*'ys  and also to promote cruise  tourism  in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF SHIPPING (SHRI PON, RADHAKRISHNAN)

- (a)&(b):The impact of siltation on navigability  in the navigable  channel in National waterways f ruwsl ['a"sse-sr"a  ov"*," lnland waterwavs  Authority  of lndia  (lWAl) by conducting  ,"g u'iti hyU'og"[]'i" s"'"yt..  The shoal/  siltation  locations  are identified  oaseo on if,e ;;;it i= ot t'yorograpr,ic  survey  data. Various conservancy measures ,r.n ""'r'u"g;f Ji'["nOrf  fing, -maintenance-dredging and river training works  are unAertat<eritlGal  with the  [roblem  of siltation  in the navigable  channels and to maintain the safe navigable depth in the NWs'
- (c): Data on cargo traffic on NWs and budgetary  allocation for lnland  Water Transport from 2013-14 on*"ia-t, ve"i*it"'  is it anh-ex-t  Ferry services  and  passenger traffic on *r,u*"iril',iriJer  tne  purview of the state -Governments and data in ihis regard is not maintained  by the lWAl'
- (d):ThemeasurestakenbytheGovernmenttoimprovefreighttransportationonNWs and to promote cruise  iourism  in the country are at Annex-2'

## Cargo Movement on National Waterwavs  (l\Ws)

## Annex-1

(in Million  Tonnes)

| YEAR      | NW-1   |   NW-2 | NW-3   | NWs in Goa#   | NWs in Maharashtra#   | Total   |
|-----------|--------|--------|--------|---------------|-----------------------|---------|
| 2013-14   | 3.3s   |   2.48 | L07    |               |                       | 6.90    |
| 20t4-15   | s.05   |   0.52 | 0.97   |               |                       | 6.54    |
| 20rs-16   | 6.24   |   0.6  | 1.06   |               |                       | 7.90    |
| 2016-17   | 4.62   |   0.61 | 1.03   | 15.6s         | 33.29                 | 55.20   |
| 2017 -18* | 2.49   |   0.48 | 0.38   | 6.3           | 21.16                 | 30.8 r  |

## Financial allocation for Inland  water Transport  during the last flve years

## ln crore

| Year    | BE                        | RE                        |
|---------|---------------------------|---------------------------|
| 2013-14 | 222.14                    | 166.34                    |
| 2AM-15  | 228.17                    | 143. I 5s                 |
| 2015-16 | 326.39                    | 314.11                    |
| 2016-17 | BE 416.01 + EBRs 340      | RE 362.31 + EBRs 340      |
| 2017-18 | BE 303.00 + 660.00 (EBRs) | RE 450.00 + 660.00 (EBRs) |

EBRs: Extra Budgetary Resources -  Bonds  raised by IWAI.

## Annex-2

- (i) The Government  has declared 1l I (including  5 existing) National  Waterways spread over in 24 states under the National  Waterways  Act, 201 6 which came  into effect from 12ft April,2016.
- (ii) National  Waterways  1  ,2,  & 3 have been developed  with targeted  depth  of 3.0 m I 2.5 m I 2.0 m respectively  with24 hour navigational  facilities and a combination  of tixed and floating terminals  with mechanized  cargo handling  facilities  at strategic locations to enable movement of vessels in these waterways.
- (iii) The Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) for capacity  augmentation  for navigation on NWI (River Ganga) on the Haldia  -  Varanasi  stretch with technical and financial  assistance  of the world Bank at a cost of Rs. s,369 crore is being implemented.

(iv) On NW-4, work for development  of fairway in the Vijayawada *  Muktyala stretch oi river Krishna has commenced.  Work for installation of floating  terminals at four locations is at an advanced stage.

(v) Under a joint co-operation effort, Government of India and Bangladesh  have decided to undertake  the fairway development of Sirajganj-Daikhawa  & Ashuganj-Zakiganj stretches oflndo- Bangladesh  Protocol (lBP) route at a oost ofRs.  305.84 crore on 80:20 cost sharing basis (80% being borne by Govemment of India & 2070 by Government of Bangladesh). This development envisages to provide  critical  connectivity to the NorthEastern Region  through the IBP Route.

(vi) Feasibility  studies  have been undertaken for the 106 new NWs and as per the feasibility reports  completed so far, 36 NWs have been found  technically  viable and out of these  36 NWs, development activities  have been initiated  on 8 NWs in 2017-18.

## Measures  taken to promote  cruise  tourism in the country

(i) Standardized  Operating Procedures  (SOPs)  for cruise vessels havc been revised and operationalised w.e.f. 29!h November,2017 at all major ports.

(ii) The port charges have been reduced  and all major ports charge a uniform single rate of $ 0.35 per CRT for first l2 hrs. of stay w.e.f. 03'd November, 201 7 and these will remain in force for a period ofthree years.

(iii) Cruise  Tourists  arriving with e-visa  are exempted  from the requirement of biometric enrolment for a period of three years  i.e. till 31.12.2020 to facilitate  expeditious immigration  clearance.

(iv) Further  extension ofCabotage  relaxation  for foreign  flag vessels  carrying  passengers has been relaxed for a period offive years  beyond  05.02.2019  to 05.02.2024.

(v) The Mumbai Port is upgrading the existing  cruise terminal with a view to transform Mumbai into an international cruise destination.

(vi) River cruise/ tourism  have been a regular feature on National Waterways-l  & 2 since last 3- 4 years.  Various  companies namely  M/s Heritage  River Cruises Pvt. Ltd. (formerly known as Pandaw Cruises  India Pvt. Ltd.), M/s Vivada  Inland  Waterways  and M/s Assam Bengal  Navigation Co. operate their cruise  vessels on NW-1  and Sunderbans waterways. M/s Assam- Bengal Navigation Company, M/s Far Horizon  Co., are also operating cruise vessels on NW-2. River tourism on NW-3 is already popular among domestic  and foreign tourists.