National Waterways Project

Source: The post is based on the article “National Waterways Project”  published in PIB on 28th July 2023.

What is the News?

The Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways has informed Lok Sabha about the initiatives taken for developing National Waterways.

National Waterways for cargo and passenger movement:

Currently, 111 waterways, including 5 existing and 106 new ones, across 24 States have been declared National Waterways(NWs) under the National Waterways Act, 2016.

Out of these, 26 NWs were found feasible for cargo and passenger movement based on techno economic feasibility studies and Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and an action plan has been formulated for their development. 

Presently, development initiatives are underway for 20 of these NWs.

What are the challenges in the development of National Waterways?

The development of National Waterways faces significant challenges such as:

1) varying and limited depths during lean seasons due to excessive upstream water utilization, causing meandering and braiding of alluvial rivers and erosion of banks leading to excessive siltation

2) insufficient cargo earmarked for Inland Water Transport (IWT) 3) non-mechanized navigation lock systems 4) inadequate unloading facilities at terminals 5) clearance issues due to cross structures 6) first and last mile connectivity problems 7) lack of vessel financing options and 8) logistics and shipping market apprehension to shift without policy support, which hinders the use of IWT by shippers.