Waterways development set to change course during second term of Modi govt

The new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre will focus on rivers in the southern and western parts of the country for rejuvenation and waterway works. 

In its earlier stint, the focus of the ruling alliance had been on the Ganga.

To begin with, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) wants to turn its attention to strengthening the creek system in and around Mumbai to de-congest one of the country’s busiest ports – the Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), on the national waterway 53.

This development on the river is part of the larger urban transport model to connect Thane, Vasai and Mumbai. The model that includes dredging the river to improve its navigability is aimed at reducing the turnaround time for cargo vessels.

“It will lead to savings in the cost of logistics for companies as the turnaround time for ships would be reduced,” said a senior official, adding that the proposal is important for JNPT’s containerised cargo.

The transportation model plan also includes starting a ferry service in Mumbai on the lines of Staten Island ferry service connecting New York with its suburbs. The detailed project report for the national waterway 53 is ready and work will begin soon, the official said.

By an Act of Parliament, development of waterways on rivers is part of the ministry of shipping's plan though the Narendra Modi government has this time created a separate ministry, Jal Shakti, for river rejuvenation and development.

Also, part of the plan is development of national waterway 4 on the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh and national waterway 5 in Odisha.

In November 2018, the first multi-modal terminal on national waterway 1 was inaugurated. The terminal is part of the Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) and costs about Rs 5,369 crore with the technical assistance and investment support from the World Bank.

The inland mode is environment friendly besides being cost effective. These projects have been envisaged to bring down the logistics cost in the country and create employment opportunities.

Part of the first national waterway project, the terminal at Sahibganj in Jharkhand will be operational by August this year, along with the aligned freight village and logistics clusters.

This terminal is anticipated to cost Rs 280 crore and will have a cargo handling capacity of 2.24 million tonnes annually.

Similarly, a terminal at Haldia in West Bengal is expected to be ready by June 2020. The terminal is likely to come up at a cost of over Rs 500 crore and will handle cargo to the tune of 3.18 million tonnes per annum.

Completion of the larger multi-modal transportation network on the national waterway 1 is likely to help freight services and reduce logistics costs of companies.