The details of cargo traffic movement through operational national waterways collected from State Government Inland Water Transport (IWT) Departments/ Maritime Boards by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) was recorded as 83.61 Million Metric Tonne (MMT) during FY- 2020-21 (Annex – 1.). A quantity of 96.31 MMT cargo traffic movement has been recorded till 28.02.2022 during FY-2021-22 (Annex-2). As per Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 document, cargo movement on National Waterways is targeted as 200 MMT by 2030. However, the data pertaining to movement of passengers on the existing waterways is not maintained by IWAI.

Steps taken by the Government to improve the existing waterways to promote Inland Water Transport(IWT) in the country are detailed at Annex-3.

Annex-1

Statement of Cargo/Traffic movement for the Year 2020-21:

Annex-2

Statement of Cargo/Traffic movement from Apr 2021 till Feb 2022

Annex-3

Steps taken for growth of cargo transportation on waterways

1. INITIATIVES FOR GROWTH OF TRAFFIC ON NATIONAL WATERWAYS: 

i. Fairway development works: Fairway development works to ensure Least Available Depth (LAD) of 3.0 meter in Haldia-Barh, 2.5 meter in Barh-Ghazipur and 2.2 meter in Ghazipur-Varanasi stretches on NW-1 are in progress under the Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) which has been undertaken by IWAI with technical and financial assistance from World Bank. Similarly, to improve the connectivity between NW-1 and NW-2/NW-16 via the Indo Bangladesh protocol route, the critical and shallow stretches between Sirajganj and Daikhowa on protocol route No1 & 2 and Ashuganj and Zakiganj on protocol rote no 3 &4 in Bangladesh are being jointly developed by India and Bangladesh for round the year navigability (with targeted LAD of 2.5 mtrs). Similarly, fairway development works are being carried out on NW-97 in Sunderbans to allow smooth navigation of vessels on the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route. Comprehensive development of National Waterway-2 has been undertaken by IWAI under a Project approved by the Government at the cost of Rs.  461 Cr.. The project includes maintenance dredging besides construction of a Multi Modal Terminal at Jogighopa, alternative road connectivity to Pandu Port, ship repair facility at Pandu, fairway development, O&M of navigational aids, O&M of fixed & floating terminals, O&M of vessels, consultancy trailing, maintenance of e-portal etc.

ii. Development of New National Waterways-IWAI has identified 26 new NWs through techno-economic feasibility studies for undertaking technical interventions to make the waterways navigable for transportation purpose.

iii. Ro-Ro/Ro-Pax Service Commenced in Various National Waterways- The Operation of Ro-Ro / Ro-Pax vessels inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minster during February 2021 for the following routes:

iv. Revision of Levy & Collection of Fees: Taking ahead the vision of the Government of India to promote Inland Waterways as a supplementary mode of transport, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has waived waterway user charges initially for a period of three years.

2. DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR EASE-OF-DOING BUSINESS: 

· CAR-D (Cargo Data) Portal: CAR-D is a web based portal for collection & compilation, analysis and dissemination of all cargo and cruise movement data of National Waterways to the stakeholders.

· PANI (Portal for Asset & Navigation Information): PANI is an integrated solution brining river navigation and infrastructure information on a single platform. It provides detailed information of various features of National Waterways and the assets such as fairway, infrastructure facilities, cross-river structures, connectivity at jetties, emergency services for facilitating transportation of cargo.            

3. Enhanced regional trade using IWT mode:

a. Addition of new Ports of Call and routes in India and Bangladesh under PIWT&T: With 7 new ports of call in addition to existing 6 on each side along with addition/  extension  of  2  waterway  routes  in  addition  to  existing  8  routes  under PIWT&T between India and Bangladesh, the accessibility of IWT mode for trade between India and Bangladesh is expected to increase and result in growth of traffic on NWs.

b. Trade between Bhutan and Bangladesh: Stone exporters from Bhutan have identified Inland waterways as an alternate mode of transportation considering the benefits associated with waterways mode such as lower transportation cost, larger shipment size compared to road, avoiding congestion on land routes etc. The first movement under supervision of IWAI was successfully executed in July 2019.  This trade using the IWT mode is expected to continue and reach a significant scale in the coming years.

4. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for facilitating the Stakeholders to use Inland Water Transport and access the various information related to National Waterways: The list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for various National Waterways which are available at IWAI website is as given below:

i. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the Agreement on the use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for movement of goods to and from India between the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Government of Republic of India.

ii. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of MoU on Passenger and Cruise Services on the Coastal and Protocol Route between the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Government of Republic of India.

iii. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the MoU on use of Inland Waterways for Transportation of Bilateral Trade and Transit cargoes between the Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Government of Republic of India.

iv. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the Movement of Vessels on Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWT&T) to contain the spread of COVID19.

v. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Check List for Ro-Ro / Ro-Pax vessel operations on National Waterways.

vi. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Car-D Portal.

5. Stakeholder consultations: IWAI carried out stakeholder consultations at six different locations (Kolkata, Kochi, Mumbai, Patna, Goa and Dhaka) in FY-20 and 9 conference-cum-webinars during FY-21. These interactions helped in promoting waterways as a mode of transportation and understanding expectations and feedback of stakeholders. IWAI is undertaking targeted initiatives to address the expectation and feedback received to further enhance traffic on NWs.

This information was given by the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

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