Lok Sabha Question No. 4751 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-20
Subject: Development of Inland Waterways
Ministry: PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS
Asked by: Shri Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4751

ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026

## DEVELOPMENT OF INLAND WATERWAYS

4751. SHRI MAGUNTA SREENIVASULU REDDY:

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

## पȅन , पोत पįरवहन और जलमागŊ मंũी

- (a) the list of inland waterways presently proposed, under consideration and presently functional across the Country, State-wise including Andhra Pradesh; (b)  the  quantum  of  funds  allocated,  released  and  utilised  for  maintenance  and upgradation of  inland waterways across the Country during the last five  years, Statewise including AndhraPradesh; (c) the total trade volume on inland waterways of the Country during the last five years,
- State-wise including the said State; and
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  considered  further  developing  inland  waterways  for purposes of tourism, transportation, trade and commerce, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)  Presently, there are 111 declared National Waterways (NWs) across the country. Out of this 32 NWs are operational for cargo/passenger movement and 20 new NWs are proposed for operationalisation in next five years. The state-wiselist of operational/to be operational NWs is placed at Annexure-1. (b)  Funds  allocated,  released  and  utilised  for  maintenance  and  upgradation  of  NWs across  the  country  during  the  last  five  years,  waterway-wise  with  States  including Andhra Pradesh is at Annexure-2. (c)  NW  wise  details  of  traffic  movement  for  the  last  five  years  with  growth  is  at Annexure-3. (d)  A  total  of  20  new  NWs  have  been  proposed  for  development  in  five  years  for
- tourism, transportation, trade and commerce. The details are givenat Annexure-1.

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) & (d) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4751 for 20/03/2026.

## (A) List of 32 operational NWs:

|   Sl. No. | NW No.   | National Waterways (NW) Name                                                           | State                                         |
|-----------|----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
|         1 | NW-1     | Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System (Haldia- Allahabad)                              | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal |
|         2 | NW-2     | Brahmaputra River (Dhubri-Sadiya)                                                      | Assam                                         |
|         3 | NW-3     | West Coast Canal                                                                       | Kerala                                        |
|         4 | NW-4     | Krishna Godavari River Systems                                                         | Andhra Pradesh                                |
|         5 | NW-5     | East Coast Canal And Matai River/Brahmani- Kharsua-Dhamra Rivers/Mahanadi Delta Rivers | Odisha                                        |
|         6 | NW-8     | Alappuzha-Changanassery Canal                                                          | Kerala                                        |
|         7 | NW-9     | Alappuzha-Kottayam - Athirampuzha Canal                                                | Kerala                                        |
|         8 | NW-14    | Baitarni River                                                                         | Odisha                                        |
|         9 | NW-16    | Barak River                                                                            | Assam                                         |
|        10 | NW-23    | BudhaBalanga                                                                           | Odisha                                        |
|        11 | NW-31    | Dhansiri/Chathe                                                                        | Assam                                         |
|        12 | NW-44    | Ichamati River                                                                         | West Bengal                                   |
|        13 | NW-48    | Jawai-Luni-Rann of Kutch River                                                         | Gujarat                                       |
|        14 | NW-53    | (Kalyan-Thane-Mumbai Waterway, Vasai Creek and Ulhas River)                            | Maharashtra                                   |
|        15 | NW-64    | Mahanadi River                                                                         | Odisha                                        |
|        16 | NW-86    | Rupnarayan River                                                                       | West Bengal                                   |
|        17 | NW-94    | Sone River                                                                             | Bihar                                         |
|        18 | NW-97    | Sunderbans Waterway                                                                    | West Bengal                                   |
|        19 | NW-10    | Amba River                                                                             | Maharashtra                                   |
|        20 | NW-83    | Rajpuri Creek                                                                          | Maharashtra                                   |
|        21 | NW-85    | Revadanda Creek-Kundalika River System                                                 | Maharashtra                                   |
|        22 | NW-91    | Shastri River - Jaigad Creek System                                                    | Maharashtra                                   |

|   23 | NW-68   | Mandovi River   | Goa                            |
|------|---------|-----------------|--------------------------------|
|   24 | NW-111  | Zuari River     | Goa                            |
|   25 | NW-73   | Narmada River   | Gujarat                        |
|   26 | NW-100  | Tapi River      | Gujarat                        |
|   27 | NW-27   | Cumberjua River | Goa                            |
|   28 | NW-47   | Jalangi River   | West Bengal                    |
|   29 | NW-87   | Sabarmati River | Gujarat                        |
|   30 | NW-57   | Kopili River    | Assam                          |
|   31 | NW-110  | Yamuna River    | Delhi, Haryana & Uttar Pradesh |
|   32 | NW-40   | Ghaghra River   | Bihar & Uttar Pradesh          |

## (B) 20 new NWs proposed for operationalization in next 5 years.

|   Sl. No. | National Waterway                    | State/U.T.                                            |
|-----------|--------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | NW-49 : Jhelum River (110 km)        | Jammu & Kashmir                                       |
|         2 | NW-26: Chenab River (51 km)          | Jammu & Kashmir                                       |
|         3 | NW-84: Ravi River (44 km)            | Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh & Punjab            |
|         4 | NW-25: Chapora River (33 km)         | Goa                                                   |
|         5 | NW-88: Sal River (14.05 km)          | Goa                                                   |
|         6 | NW-4 Extension (1838.20 km)          | Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh & Chhattisgarh |
|         7 | NW-51: Kabini River (23.17 km)       | Karnataka                                             |
|         8 | NW-76: Panchagangavali River (23 km) | Karnataka                                             |
|         9 | NW-41: Ghataprabha River (111.76 km) | Karnataka                                             |
|        10 | NW-90: Sharavati River (28.67 km)    | Karnataka                                             |

|   11 | NW-14: Baitarni River (48 km)                            | Odisha                          |
|------|----------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------|
|   12 | NW-22: Birupa-Badi-Genguti-Brahmani System (155 km)      | Odisha                          |
|   13 | NW-23: BudhaBalanga River (55.89 km)                     | Odisha                          |
|   14 | NW-96: Subarnarekha River (311 km)                       | Jharkhand, West Bengal & Odisha |
|   15 | NW-20: Bhawani River (95 km)                             | Tamil Nadu                      |
|   16 | NW-89: Savitri River &Bankot Creek (45.57 km )           | Maharashtra                     |
|   17 | NW-13: AVM Canal (11.3 km)                               | Kerala& Tamil Nadu              |
|   18 | NW-59: Kottayam-Vaikom Canal (18.8 km)                   | Kerala                          |
|   19 | NW-28:Dabhol Creek-Vashishti River (45.228 km)           | Maharashtra                     |
|   20 | NW-5: Brahmani- Kharsua - Mahanadi Delta rivers (332 km) | Odisha                          |

Annexure referred  to  in  reply  to  part  (b)  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No. 4751 for 20/03/2026.

## Fundallocation and expenditureincurred(utilisation)in regard to the development of National Waterways during the last five years:

(Rs. in crore)

|    | Sl.No.National Waterways                                                                                                                                                            |   2020- 2021 |   2021- 2022 |   2022- 2023 |   2023- 2024 |   2024- 2025 |
|----|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| 1. | NW-1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system) in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal                                                                                     |        58.54 |        87.83 |        66.25 |       163.38 |        97.71 |
| 2. | NW-3 (West Coast Canal, Kerala) including NW-8(Alapuzzha- Changonasser) &NW-9(Kottayam- Valicom) in Kerala                                                                          |        21.52 |        10.83 |         3.82 |         4.78 |        15.26 |
| 3. | Phase-1, NW-4(Krishna River) in Andhra Pradesh                                                                                                                                      |         3.62 |         3.08 |         0.18 |         0.67 |         1.22 |
| 4. | Phase-1, NW-5 (East Coast Canal And Matai River/Brahmani-Kharsua-Dhamra Rivers/Mahanadi Delta Rivers) in Odisha                                                                     |         2.13 |         2.58 |         0.76 |        26.53 |         2.24 |
| 5. | Other Plan schemes including new NWs- NW-27 (Cumberjao Canal), NW-68 (Mondavi River), NW-111 (Zuari River) in Goa, NW-86(Rupnarayan River), NW- 97(Sunderbans River) in West Bengal |        13.21 |        13.47 |         4.36 |        11.25 |        33.47 |
| 6. | Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) on NW-1 in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal                                                                                            |       214.05 |       229.6  |       339.22 |       501.26 |       501.48 |
| 7. | NW-2 (Brahmaputra River)&NW-16 (Barak River)- Grants for creation of Capital Assets in Assam                                                                                        |        38.79 |        78.04 |       100.18 |       261.77 |       432.3  |
|    | Total (Rs. in crore)                                                                                                                                                                |       351.86 |       425.43 |       514.77 |       969.64 |      1083.68 |

Annexure  referred  to  in  reply  to  part  (c)  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No. 4751 for 20/03/2026.

## National Waterways wise Cargo Movement during 2020-21 to 2024-25.

(in Million Tons)

| Sl. No.   | National Waterways (NWs)                                                                                  | 2020- 21   | 2021- 22   | 2022- 23   | 2023- 24   | 2024- 25   |
|-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
| 1.        | NW-1 [Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System (Haldia-Allahabad)] in U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal | 9.21       | 10.93      | 13.17      | 12.82      | 16.38      |
| 2.        | NW-2 [Brahmaputra River (Dhubri-Sadiya)] in Assam                                                         | 0.31       | 0.43       | 0.63       | 0.59       | 0.90       |
| 3.        | NW-3 (West Coast Canal) in Kerala                                                                         | 0.73       | 1.70       | 3.23       | 3.29       | 3.49       |
| 4.        | NW-4 (Krishna Godavari River Systems) in Andhra Pradesh                                                   | 6.83       | 11.23      | 8.42       | 4.30       | 10.40      |
| 5.        | NW-5 (East Coast Canal And Matai River/Brahmani-Kharsua-Dhamra Rivers/Mahanadi Delta Rivers) in Odisha    |            | 0.01       | 0.40       | 0.64       | 0.38       |
| 6.        | NW-8 (Alappuzha-Changanassery Canal) in Kerala                                                            | -          | -          | 0.03       | 0.04       | 0.04       |
| 7.        | NW-9 (Alappuzha-Kottayam Athirampuzha Canal) in Kerala                                                    | -          | -          | 0.02       | 0.02       | 0.03       |
| 8.        | NW-14 (Baitarni River) in Odisha                                                                          | -          | -          | -          | 0.00       | -          |
| 9.        | NW-16 (Barak River) in Assam                                                                              | 0.00       | 0.01       | 0.01       | 0.00       | 0.18       |
|           | 10.NW-23 (BudhaBalanga River) in Odisha                                                                   | -          | -          | 0.03       | 0.02       | 0.02       |
|           | 11.NW-27 (Cumberjua River) in Goa                                                                         | -          | -          | -          | -          | -          |
|           | 12.NW-31 (Dhansiri/Chathe River) in Assam                                                                 | -          | -          | -          | 0.01       | 0.00       |
|           | 13.NW-40 (Ghaghra River) in Bihar & U.P.                                                                  |            |            |            |            |            |
|           | 14.NW-44 (Ichamati River) in West Bengal                                                                  | 0.28       | 0.82       | 0.46       | 0.48       | 0.49       |
|           | 15.NW-47 (Jalangi River) in West Bengal                                                                   | -          | -          | -          | -          | -          |

| 16.NW-48 (Jawai-Luni-Rann of Kutch River) in Gujarat & Rajasthan                    | -     | -     | -     | -     | 2.40   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|--------|
| 17.NW-53 (Kalyan-Thane-Mumbai Waterway, Vasai Creek And Ulhas River) in Maharashtra | -     | -     | -     | -     | 2.70   |
| 18.NW-57 (Kopili River) in Assam                                                    | -     | -     | -     | -     | -      |
| 19.NW-64 (Mahanadi River) in Odisha                                                 | -     | 0.01  | 0.45  | 0.67  | 0.40   |
| 20.NW-86 (Rupnarayan River) in West Bengal                                          | 0.00  | 0.00  | 0.09  | 0.10  | 0.14   |
| 21.NW-94 (Sone River) in Bihar                                                      | -     | -     | -     | 1.16  | 0.97   |
| 22.NW-97 (Sunderbans Waterway) in West Bengal                                       | 3.86  | 6.10  | 5.47  | 5.19  | 5.98   |
| Sub Total (National Waterways 1,2,3,4,5,16,44,64,86,94 &97)                         | 21.22 | 31.24 | 32.41 | 29.34 | 44.91  |
| Maharashtra Waterways                                                               |       |       |       |       | -      |
| 23.NW-10 (Amba River)                                                               | 17.69 | 20.23 | 28.54 | 30.17 | 29.69  |
| 24.NW-83 (Rajpuri Creek)                                                            | 0.21  | 0.23  | 0.24  | 0.45  | 0.27   |
| 25.NW-85 (Revadanda Creek-Kundalika River System)                                   | 1.08  | 0.70  | 0.50  | 0.99  | 0.82   |
| 26.NW-91 (Shastri River - Jaigad Creek System)                                      | 9.23  | 22.45 | 33.87 | 37.05 | 32.64  |
| TOTAL Maharashtra Waterways                                                         | 28.21 | 43.61 | 63.15 | 68.66 | 63.41  |
| Goa Waterways                                                                       |       |       |       |       | -      |
| 27.NW-68 (Mandovi River)                                                            | 4.00  | 2.62  | 2.54  | 2.42  | 2.84   |
| 28.NW-111 (Zuari River)                                                             | 4.46  | 1.96  | 0.39  | 1.10  | 1.32   |
| TOTAL Goa Waterways                                                                 | 8.46  | 4.58  | 2.93  | 3.52  | 4.16   |
| Gujarat Waterways                                                                   |       |       |       |       | -      |
| 29.NW-73 (Narmada River)                                                            | 0.08  | 0.05  | 0.04  | 0.06  | 0.06   |
| 30.NW-100 (Tapi River)                                                              | 25.63 | 29.32 | 27.62 | 31.46 | 33.31  |
| TOTAL Gujarat Waterways                                                             | 25.71 | 29.37 | 27.66 | 31.51 | 33.36  |

| Grand Total (Million Tonnes)   | 83.61   | 108.79   | 126.15   | 133.03   | 145.84   |
|--------------------------------|---------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| Year on Year Growth            | -       | 30.13%   | 15.95%   | 5.45%    | 9.63%    |

*****