Why Govt has cleared decks
for National waterways?
(1) Inland Water Transport
is considered as the most cost effective and economical mode of
transport from the point of view of fuel efficiency
(2) One horse power can
carry 4000 Kg load in water whereas, it can carry 150 Kg and 500 Kg by
road and rail respectively
(3) Further in a study
as highlighted by the World Bank, 1 litre of fuel can move 105 ton-Km
by inland water transport, whereas the same amount of fuel can move
only 85 ton-Km by rail and 24 ton-Km by road
(4) Studies have shown
that emission from container vessels range from 32-36 gCO2 per ton-Km
while those of road transport vehicles (heavy duty vehicles) range
from 51-91gCO2 per ton-km.
(5) Many countries in
Europe and elsewhere carry over 40% of their passenger and freight
traffic through water. But in India this proportion is only 3.5
per cent
(6) Inland water
transport’s share in the country’s total transport sector is less than
0.4%
(7) This is partly because
of the inability to shift cargo between modes of transport
without disruption.
About five existing and one
proposed waterway
1.
Allahabad-Haldia Stretch of the Ganga Bhagirathi-Hooghly River
2.
Sadiya-Dhubri Stretch of Brahmaputra River
3.
Kollam-Kottapuram Stretch of West Coast Canal and Champakara
and Udyogmandal Canals
4.
Kakinada-Puducherry Stretch of Canals and the Kaluvelly Tank
Bhadrachalam-Rajahmundry Stretch of River Godavari and Wazirabad-Vijayawada Stretch River Krishna
Bhadrachalam-Rajahmundry Stretch of River Godavari and Wazirabad-Vijayawada Stretch River Krishna
5.
Talcher-Dhamra Stretch of Rivers, Geonkhali-Charbatia Stretch of East
Coast Canal, Charbatia-Dhamra Stretch of Matai River and Mahanadi Delta
Rivers
This is a proposed national waterway b/w
Lakhipur and bhanga of the Barak river.
What are the Benefits of inland waterways?
1.Recognised
as fuel efficient, cost effective and
environment friendly mode of transport, especially for
bulk goods, hazardous goods and over dimensional cargos
2.Reduces time, cost of
transportation of goods and cargos, as well as congestion and accidents on
highways
3.Immense potential for domestic cargo
transportation as well as for cruise, tourism and passenger traffic.
4.Systematic development
will open up progressive economic and transport opportunities in the
country
5.Open up considerable investment
and business opportunities in
the areas like water-based tourism, construction and operation of
terminals, creation of storage accommodation, and provision of other
facilities required for smooth water-based navigation
Help to
generate millions
of new jobs
Are there any limitations/
problems to implement this national waterway project?
If any, How to solve those
limitations?
1. India’s
water channels will need to have adequate width, depth and air clearance.
Many rivers are seasonal, with
water flows declining sharply after the monsoon.
2.Navigating
such rivers in the lean season may, therefore, require regular and extensive dredging and
desilting
3.Higher water salinity,
especially in the coastal regions and estuaries, and constant inflow of
silt in the rivers can also be problematic
4.Water
highways will require more
river ports with their support infrastructure – road and rail
connections, warehouses and other services
5.Heavy investment will be
needed also to procure equipment, including dredgers, shipping vessels and
barges of different sizes.
What are the sources of funding
and finances?
1.Financial
approval of the competent authority for each waterway would be taken based
on outcome of techno-economic feasibility studies, that are being
undertaken by the Inland
Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) .
2.IWAI will
develop the feasible stretch of National Waterways for shipping and
navigation purpose through mobilization of financial resource.
3.Govt will
explore multiple sources of finance, including market borrowings and
tapping the National
Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) and the Central Roads Fund
(CRF).
*Central Road Fund (CRF) is a non-lapsable fund created under Section 6 of the Central Road Fund Act, 2000 out of a cess/tax imposed by Union Govt on consumption of Petrol and High Speed Diesel to develop and maintain National Highways, State roads (particularly those of economic importance and which provides inter-state connectivity), rural roads, railway under/over bridges etc.
National Waterways Bill 2015
The approval of the National Waterways Bill,
2015, by both Houses of Parliament clears the decks for increasing the use of
India’s extensive network of rivers, canals and other water stretches for
transport.
Under bill, 106
additional
inland waterways will be added to the list of national waterways, taking the
number to 111Under Entry 24 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, the central govt can make laws on shipping and navigation on inland waterways which are classified as national waterways by Parliament by law.
Important Links
http://www.nationalwaterways.com/kalam_address.pdf
http://www.nationalwaterways.com/
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