(a) whether the Government has any proposal for development of all the inland water ports in the
country including West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat in view of their present conditions;
(b) if so, the details of action plan chalked out and the amount to be invested, port-wise and
enhanced capacity of the ports: and
(c) if not, the reasons therefor?
MINISTER OF THE STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF SHIPPING (SHRI MUKUL ROY)
(a) to (c): Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) develops inland water ports/terminals only on National
Waterways. Since there is no National Waterway in the State of Gujarat, question of developing any inland
water port there by IWAI does not arise.
The National Waterway-1 i.e. the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system between Haldia and Allahabad and the
National Waterway-5 i.e. the East Coast Canal with Brahmani river and Mahanadi delta have some portion in
West Bengal, while the National Waterway-4 i.e. the Kakinada-Puducherry stretch of canals along with rivers
Godavari and Krishna has some portion in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
As regards West Bengal, construction of an inland water terminal at GR Jetty-2 in Kolkata is in progress
at an estimated cost of Rs 38.47 Cr. Floating terminals have also been provided at Haldia, Kolkata (BISN
& Botanical Garden), Shantipur, Katwa, Hajarduari and Farakka on National Waterway-1 in West Bengal.
As regard development of ports on National Waterway 4 & 5, detailed project reports have been prepared
but no funds are available for their development.