(a) whether the Government proposes funding from the Central
Road Fund (CRF) for the development of National
Waterways in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the funds from CRF proposed to be allocated for the
purpose during the current financial year;
(d) whether the Government has prioritized the waterways for
development in a time-bound manner and if so, the
details thereof; and
(e) the time-frame set for completion of work on these
waterways?
(a)to(c):A proposal for allocation from Central Road Fund (CRF) for development and maintenance of National Waterways (NWs) is being considered by the Government.
(d)&(e):111 inland waterways including five NWs declared earlier, have been declared as NWs by the National Waterways Act, 2016.
The six NWs viz. NW-1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system from Allahabad to Haldia); NW-2 (River Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Sadiya); NW-3 (West Coast Canal from Kottapuram to Kozhikode); NW-4 (Kakinada-Puducherry canals along with Godavari and Krishna rivers); NW-5 (East Coast Canal integrated with Brahmani river and Mahanadi delta rivers) and NW-16 (River Barak from Lakhipur to Bhanga) have been taken up for development for navigation.
NW-1, 2 and 3 out of the above six NWs have been developed with fairway, navigational aids and combination of fixed and floating terminals at strategic locations with mechanized handling facilities. These three NWs are operational.
The Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) for capacity augmentation of NW-1 from Haldia to Varanasi is being implemented with technical and financial support of the World Bank at an estimated cost of Rs. 5369 crore and is targeted for completion in 2022-23. The project envisages fairway development, navigational aids, construction of multi-modal terminals at Varanasi, Sahibganj and Haldia, construction of new navigational lock at Farakka, bank protection work, movement of LNG vessels, LNG bunkering facilities etc.
InNW-4, the stretch between Muktyala to Vijayawada has been undertaken for development for which dredging works to remove shallow patches has been awarded and is targeted for completion by June, 2019.
In NW-5, the stretch downstream of Erada upto Dhamra Port and Paradip port has been undertaken for development. Dredging between Erada and Padanipal is being carried out and is targeted for completion in 2020-2021.
In NW-16, the stretch from Silchar to Bhanga (71 km) has been taken up for development and works for development of fairway and for providing navigational aids have been awarded and are targeted for completion by March, 2019.
Feasibility and Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) studies are being prepared for the remaining NWs. The interventions required for the development of these waterways would be known once these studies / reports are available.
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