A network on water

Towards a genuinely multi-modal transport infrastructure

The Cabinet's approval for a central law that would declare 101 stretches of river "national waterways" is significant. That is primarily because it appears to be part of a larger plan to create a much-needed interconnected rail-road-waterways logistics system. Simultaneously, approval has been granted for the formation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to provide efficient railway evacuation systems at major ports. Such an integrated inter-modal system for haulage of goods and passengers is essential to ease growing pressure on the over-burdened rail and road networks. The proposed central law is expected to stave off disputes with states, given that water is a state subject, while the development and regulation of shipping and navigation comes under the jurisdiction of the Union government. The shipping ministry is said to have already appointed consultants for 55 of the 101 selected river lengths for conversion into inland waterways.

Water transportation is known to be a cheap, fuel-efficient, environment-friendly and convenient mode of conveyance - especially for bulky, hazardous and odd-sized cargo. The carbon footprint of water transport is far below that of road and rail systems because one horsepower energy input can move about 4,000 kg of load in water, against just 150 kg on road and 500 kg on railway. The land acquisition requirement for building inland waterways infrastructure is almost negligible when compared with that for roads and railways. There is also little scope for transit losses or other problems during long, inter-state movement of goods. Apart from this, creation and operation of inland waterways and the necessary supporting infrastructure will offer a slew of other socio-economic gains as well. It will open up considerable investment and business opportunities in the areas like water-based tourism, dredging of rivers, manufacture and operation of barges, construction and operation of terminals, creation of storage accommodation, and provision of other facilities required for smooth water-based navigation. All this will help generate millions of new jobs.

Unfortunately, in spite of these advantages, only five national waterways are operational at the moment. And this network, too, is sadly under-utilised: inland water transport's share in the country's total transport sector is less than 0.4 per cent. This is partly because of the inability to shift cargo between modes of transport without disruption. Nor will the implementation of such a large plan be easy. The seasonality of water flows in many of the monsoon-fed river systems will pose the most formidable hurdle, particularly for moving around high-capacity barges. It may require extensive dredging besides construction of barrages to hold part of the surplus monsoon water for release during the lean season to maintain the minimum water depth and flow needed for navigation. Higher water salinity, especially in the coastal regions and estuaries, and constant inflow of silt in the rivers can also be problematic. Besides, to be viable, the water transport projects will need to have adequate and assured two-way commodity traffic. Such traffic, notably in bulk goods, like coal, minerals, foodgrain and fertiliser, is usually unidirectional, requiring the vessels to return empty or under-loaded. This affects the profitability of these ventures. The government should keep these problems in mind as it moves ahead with developing this vital infrastructure.