(a) & (b) Yes, Government of India has undertaken number of projects under Sagarmala for improvement of infrastructure related to Roll-on/Roll-off passenger services. The details of projects are attached at Annexure-I.
(c) & (d) Based on the outcome of techno-economic feasibility and Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of NWs, 25 NWs have been found viable by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for cargo/passenger movement. The list of the 25 NWs is at Annexure-II.
(e) In addition to developmental activities on 13 NWs and holding stakeholders conferences for IWT cargo promotion, the steps taken by Government for waterways and integrating them with economic development of the country are at Annexure-III.
Annexure I
Name of Project under Sagarmala Route State
Capital dredging in Navigational Channel for Ro-Ro Pax Services at Mandwa Mumbai Ferry Wharf to Mandwa Maharashtra
Construction of break water at Mandwa Mumbai Ferry Wharf to Mandwa Maharashtra
Ro Ro service at Mandwa -Phase 2 of Mandwa port development Mumbai Ferry Wharf to Mandwa Maharashtra
Dredging of RO-Pax Ferry Services between Gogha and Dahej in Gulf of Cambay Ghogha - Dahej Gujarat
Annexure-II
LIST OF 25 NATIONAL WATERWAYS FEASIBLE FOR CARGO/ PASSENGER MOVEMENT
Sl. No. National Waterway No. Details of Waterways STATES Status
1 National Waterway 1 Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System (Haldia - Allahabad) Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal Development taken up with Assistance from World Bank Jal Marg Vikas Project
2 National Waterway 2 Brahmaputra River (Dhubri - Sadiya) Assam Development taken up as per approved SFC for FY 20-21 to 2024-25
3 National Waterway 16 Barak River Assam
4 National Waterway 3 West Coast Canal (Kottapuram - Kollam), Champakara and Udyogmandal Canals Kerala Mostly Operational Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up.
5 National Waterway 4 Krishna River (Vijayawada – Muktyala) Andhra Pradesh
6 National Waterway 5 Dhamra-Paradip via Mangalagadi to Pankopal Odisha
7 National Waterway 8 Alappuzha- Changanassery Canal (only for Tourism) Kerala
8 National Waterway 9 Alappuzha-Kottayam – Athirampuzha Canal Kerala Alternate route: 11.5km
9 National Waterway 27 Cumberjua River Goa
10 National Waterway 68 Mandovi River Goa
11 National Waterway 86 Rupnarayan River West Bengal
12 National Waterway 97 Sunderbans Waterway West Bengal
13 National Waterway 111 Zuari River Goa
14 National Waterway 10 Amba River Maharashtra Projects at appraisal stage
15 National Waterway 40 Ghagra River Bihar
16 National Waterway 44 Ichamati River West Bengal
17 National Waterway 52 Kali River (only for tourism) Karnataka
18 National Waterway 57 Kopili River Assam
19 National Waterway 25 Chapora River Goa
20 National Waterway 37 Gandak River Bihar
21 National Waterway 28 Dabhol Creek Vasisti River Maharashtra Substantial cargo moves in tidal waters/ river mouth under respective State maritime board. No interventions are contemplated by IWAI as of now.
22 National Waterway 73 Narmada River Maharashtra & Gujarat
23 National Waterway 85 Revadanda Creek - Kundalika River System Maharashtra
24 National Waterway 94 Sone River Bihar
25 National Waterway 100 Tapi River Maharashtra & Gujarat
Annexure III
Steps Taken To Boost Inland Shipping
1. DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR EASE-OF-DOING BUSINESS
• CAR-D (Cargo Data) Portal: CAR-D is a web based portal for collection & compilation, analysis and dissemination of all cargo and cruise movement data of National Waterways to the stakeholders.
• PANI (Portal for Asset & Navigation Information): PANI is an integrated solution brining river navigation and infrastructure information on a single platform. It provides detailed information of various features of National Waterways and the assets such as fairway, infrastructure facilities, cross-river structures, connectivity at jetties, emergency services for facilitating transportation of cargo.
These solutions increase collaboration across divergent stakeholders, improve organizational consistency, increased resource agility, enhances ownership and accountability for each stakeholder leading to improved management of activities. By having public access to key work being done by IWAI for the sector, will enhance IWAI’s standing in the market and will increase trust in the sector.
2. OTHER INITIATIVES FOR GROWTH OF TRAFFIC ON NATIONAL WATERWAYS
1. 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 allowed waiver of waterway user charges initially for a period of three years.
2. 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 agreed to be added on each side along with addition/ extension of waterway 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. Inclusion of IWT mode in the Indo-Nepal trade treaty: Inland waterways mode has been agreed for inclusion in the trade treaty between India and Nepal. This will allow Nepal bound cargo (coming from 3rd country via Kolkata port and India’s exports) to take waterway up to Sahibganj MMT (Jharkhand), proposed Kalughat terminal near Patna (Bihar) and Varanasi MMT (UP) and further movement to Nepal via road.
c. 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. The first movement under supervision of IWAI was successfully executed in July 2019. This trade using the IWT mode is expected to continue and reach a significant scale in the coming years.
3. 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 which are available at IWAI website is as given below:
i. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the Agreement on the use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for movement of goods to and from India between the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Government of Republic of India.
ii. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of MoU on Passenger and Cruise Services on the Coastal and Protocol Route between the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Government of Republic of India.
iii. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the MoU on use of Inland Waterways for Transportation of Bilateral Trade and Transit cargoes between the Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Government of Republic of India.
iv. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the Movement of Vessels on Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWT&T) to contain the spread of COVID19.
v. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Check List for Ro-Ro / Ro-Pax vessel operations on National Waterways.
vi. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Car-D Portal.
4. 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:
1. Neamati and Kamalabari (Majuli) (Assam),
2. Guwahati and North Guwahati (Assam),
3. Dhubri and Fakirganj (U/S Hatsingimari) (Assam) and
4. Wellingdon Island and Bolghaty (Kerala).
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