Lok Sabha Question No. 1537 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-28
Subject: Cargo Traffic in Waterways
Ministry: PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS
Asked by: Ramesh Bidhuri, Poonam (Mahajan) Vajendla Rao, Debasree Chaudhuri

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  1537

ANSWERED ON 28.07.2023

## CARGO TRAFFIC IN WATERWAYS

1537.SHRI RAMESH BIDHURI: SHRIMATI POONAM MAHAJAN: MS. DEBASREE CHAUDHURI:

Will the Minister of PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS be pleased to state:

## पȅन , पोत पįरवहन और जलमागŊ मंũी

- (a) whether  there  are  any  schemes  to  ensure  the  arrangements  of  movement through  inland  waterways  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  number  of places selected under this scheme, State/UT-wise including Maharashtra and West Bengal;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  for  development  of  inland waterways for cargo shipments etc. and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the steps taken for promotion of water based transport system in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS (SHRI SARBANANDA SONOWAL)

(a)  &(b)  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.

- (c) Steps taken for growth of cargo transportation on waterways are at Annexure - 2.

## Annexure.-1

## LIST OF 26 NATIONAL WATERWAYS (NWs) PROJECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT

|   Sl. 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) | 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                                         | Development taken up as per approved SFC for FY 2020-21 to 2024-25          |
|         4 | NW 3                                     | West Coast Canal (Kottapuram - Kollam), Champakara and Udyogmandal Canals                | 205           | Kerala Andhra                                 | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|         5 | NW 4                                     | Krishna River (Vijayawada - Muktyala)                                                    | 82            | Pradesh                                       | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|         6 | NW                                       | 5 Dhamra-Paradip via Mangalagadi to Pankopal                                             | 233           | Odisha                                        | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|         7 | NW 8                                     | Alappuzha- Changanassery Canal                                                           | 29            | Kerala                                        | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|         8 | NW                                       | 9 Alappuzha - Kottayam - Athirampuzha Canal                                              | 40            | Kerala (Alternate route: 11.5km)              | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|         9 | NW 27                                    | Cumberjua River (Cortalim-Ferry to Sao MartiasVidhanParisad)                             | 17            | Goa                                           | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|        10 | NW 68                                    | Mandovi River (Usgoan bridge to Arabian Sea)                                             | 41            | Goa                                           | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|        11 | NW 111                                   | Zuari River (Sanvorden bridge to Marmugao Port)                                          | 50            | Goa                                           | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|        12 | NW 86                                    | Rupnarayan River (PratapPur to Geonkhali)                                                | 72            | West Bengal                                   | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|        13 | NW 97                                    | Sunderbans Waterway (Namkhana to AtharaBankiKhal)                                        | 172           | West Bengal                                   | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|        14 | NW 40                                    | Ghagra River (Faizabad to ManjhiGhat)                                                    | 345           | Bihar & U.P.                                  | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|        15 | NW 52                                    | Kali River (Kodasalli Dam to Sadashivgad Bridge, Arabian Sea)                            | 53            | Karnataka                                     | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|        16 | NW 44                                    | Ichamati River (Bridge at Gobra to Bansjhari near Bangladesh Border)                     | 63            | West Bengal                                   | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|        17 | NW 57                                    | Kopili River (BanthaiGaonTinali Bus Stop to Chandrapur No.2 confluence with Brahmaputra) | 50            | Assam                                         | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |
|        18 | NW                                       | Dhansiri River (Morongi T.E. village110                                                  |               | Assam                                         | Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up. |

|    | 31     | Bridge to Numaligarh)                                                                            |                       |                                                       |
|----|--------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| 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.          | Mostly Operational Waterways for development by 2030. |
| 23 | NW 73  | Narmada River (Pandhariya to Gulf of Khambhat) 226                                               | Maharashtra & Gujarat | Mostly Operational Waterways for development by 2030. |
| 24 | NW 85  | Revadanda Creek - Kundalika River System (Arabian Sea at Revadanda to Bridge near Roha Nagar) 31 | Maharashtra           | Mostly Operational Waterways for development by 2030. |
| 25 | NW 94  | Sone River (Sone Barrage, Dehri to Confluence with the Ganga) 141                                | Bihar                 | Mostly Operational Waterways for development by 2030. |
| 26 | NW 100 | Tapi River (Hatnur Dam to Gulf of Khambhat) 436                                                  | Maharashtra & Gujarat | Mostly Operational Waterways for development by 2030. |

## STEPS TAKEN FOR GROWTH OF CARGO TRANSPORTATION ON WATERWAYS

## 1. INITIATIVES FOR GROWTH OF TRAFFIC ON NATIONAL WATERWAYS

- i.   Fairway development  works: Fairway  development  works to ensure Least Available  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  Jal  Marg  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,  the  critical  and  shallow  stretches  between  Sirajganj  and  Daikhowa  on protocol  routeNo1  &  2  and  Ashuganj  and  Zakiganj  on  protocol  rote  no  3  &4  in Bangladesh  are  being  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 the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.
- ii.  Development  of  New  National  Waterways:  IWAI  has  identified  26  new  NWs through techno-economic feasibility studies for undertaking technical interventions to make the waterways navigable for transportation 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  Minster during February 2021 for the following routes:
- 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.

| Vessel Name                             | Ro-Ro/Ro-Pax Services between          | Date of Inauguration by Hon'ble Prime Minister   |
|-----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| 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/S Hatsingimar) | 18.02.2021                                       |
| MV AdiShankara& MV C.V. Raman           | Wellingdon Island and Bolghaty         | 14.02.2021                                       |

## 2. 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)

## 3. 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.
4.   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.

## 5.   STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS

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

-  PM Gati Shakti 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.

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