• India
  • Jul 23

Inland Vessels Bill introduced in Lok Sabha

• A Bill to bring uniformity in application of law relating to inland waterways and navigation within the country was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

• Introducing the Inland Vessels Bill, 2021, newly appointed Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the Bill seeks to provide safety of navigation, protection of life and cargo and prevention of pollution that may be caused.

• The Bill also seeks to bring in transparency and accountability of administration of inland water transportation, strengthen procedures governing inland vessels their construction, survey, registration, manning and navigation.

• Currently, 4,000 kms of inland waterways are operational in the country. 

Scope of Inland Water Transport in India

• India is endowed with various Inland Water Transport (IWT) options that comprise rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, and tidal inlets. 

• India’s modal share of freight moved on inland waterways has significant potential to improve compared to other best in class benchmarks. It is imperative to increase the share of the country’s inland waterways as they are highly economical and an eco-friendly mode of transport. 

• The country has increased the modal share of cargo from 0.5 per cent to 2 per cent and has witnessed 19 per cent year-on-year growth in cargo volumes over the last five years. 

• India has over 5,000 km of navigable inland waterways under development.

• These not only form a competitive alternative mode of transportation with lower operating cost (30 per cent lower than the railways and 60 per cent lower than road) but also a sustainable mode in freight logistics and passenger transport. 

• To harness the potential of IWT, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) was established in 1986, and since has been working towards development and regulation of inland waterways. 

• From only five waterways recognised as National Waterways (NWs), the government of India notified 106 additional waterways as National Waterways by the National Waterways Act, 2016. 

• Out of the 111 NWs declared under the Act, many are operational for shipping and navigation and cargo/passenger vessels are plying on those routes. 

• National Waterway-1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system from Allahabad to Haldia), National Waterway–2 (River Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Sadiya), National Waterway-3 (West Coast Canal from Kottapuram to Kollam along with Udyogmandal and Champakara Canals) have already been developed with fairway, navigational aids, jetties and terminals with mechanised equipment handling facilities for loading and unloading of cargo.

• In addition to notification of NWs, the government has also undertaken initiatives for speeding infrastructure development too. 

These include:

• Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) for NW-1.

• Arth Ganga and Arth Brahmaputra for holistic and sustainable development leveraging NW-1 and NW-2 for freight and passenger movement.

• Inland Vessels Bill.

• Land Use Policy for Inland Waterways (IWs).

• Dredging Policy for IWs.

• Promoting private participation in terminal operations and maintenance.

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