(a) whether the Government proposes to have a dredge plan for river Brahmaputra;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the time by which the aforesaid waterway is likely to become operational;
(d) whether any study has been conducted for the development of waterway between Dhubri and Sadia via Guwahati on the river Brahmaputra; and
(e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
(a) to (c) National Waterway-2 (NW-2) (River Brahmaputra) from Dhubri to Sadiya (891 km) in Assam is an operational waterway for shipping and navigation. Regular maintenance dredging is undertaken by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) annually for maintaining the navigable channel of 2.5 m depth between Dhubri and Neamati; 2.0 m depth between Neamati & Dibrugarh; and, 1.5 m depth between Dibrugarh and Oriumghat. IWAI also undertakes regular works for fairway maintenance, river training and river conservancy.
(d) & (e) A Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the development of Inland Water Transport (IWT) on NW-2 from Dhubri to Sadiya was prepared in 1989 at the time of declaration of Brahmaputra river as a National Waterway. Based on the DPR, developmental actions were taken by IWAI for shipping and navigation in the NW-2. Further, IWAI undertook a study on ‘Modal shift of cargo passing through Siliguri Corridor destined for North-East and neighboring countries to IWT’ and ‘Pre-feasibility study for the proposed Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) at Jogighopa’ in 2017 to assess the traffic potential for the North-East Region through IWT.
*****