IWDC announces ₹50,000 Cr investment to boost national waterways infra over next 5 yrs

Guwahati/Kaziranga, Jan. 11: The Inland Waterways Development Council (IWDC) on Friday announced investments of more than Rs 50,000 crore over the next five years to boost infrastructure along national waterways.

IWDC is the apex body for policy deliberation on the promotion and propagation of inland waterways in India.

The announcement was made at the second meeting of IWDC - organised by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency for development of waterways under the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) at Kohora in Kaziranga on Friday. A series of new initiatives across 21 Inland Waterway States were announced worth more than Rs 1,400 crore. The meeting was presided over by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal.

The IWDC began with a traditional lamp lighting ceremony by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma along with Sonowal. The meet also saw the participation of the Union Minister of State for MoPSW, Shantanu Thakur, Ports Minister of Goa Aleixo Sequeira, Transport Minister of Assam Jogen Mohan, Transport Minister of Manipur Khashim Vashum, Transport Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Satish Sharma, Transport Minister of Mizoram Pu Vanlalhlana, and Transport Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Ojing Tasing, among others.

A major policy initiative in the form of Riverine Community Development Scheme was mooted at the IWDC to improve the socio-economic well-being of coastal communities by developing infrastructure, promotion of trade and tourism along with riverine ecosystem, providing skill enrichment trainings, and upgrading the traditional knowledge of the communities about rivers in an attempt to upgrade the quality of lives of the people living by the banks of the national waterways.

Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal said that IWDC has anchored a new vista for cooperative federalism as the governments at the Centre and in the States discussed, deliberated, debated, and dwelled on multiple aspects for strengthening inland waterways.

"Historically, the role of inland waterways has been paramount for civilizations. However, this basic tenet of development remained ignored until 2014 and we are attempting at rejuvenating the support system of inland waterways so that we decongest railways and roadways and at the same time, provide a viable, economic, sustainable, and efficient mode of transportation for both passengers and cargo operators. At IWDC, we levelled up solutions to tide over challenges in an attempt to unlock the opportunities for economic development. In this regard, we have aimed at launching 1,000 green vessels," he added.

Sonowal unveiled initiatives with an investment of more than Rs 1,400 crore to boost inland waterways transport network in 21 States of the country. In an effort to ensure seamless and sustainable movement of inland vessels and also ensure their safety, the National River Traffic and Navigation System (NRT&NS) has been launched. Top performing cargo vessel owners/movers were awarded for their role in the productive use of national waterways for movement of goods. The Central Database Module and Issuance of Certificates was launched with an aim to smoothen out the process of certification for vessel owners.

Highlighting the focus of IWDC on employment generation and skill training, Sonowal said that major projects to upgrade Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) have been conceived at the today's meeting. "To build a robust IWT in the country, the Government is planning to develop shipbuilding and ship repair facilities across all the national waterways. This will reduce logistics costs, boosting the ancillary industries, and encouraging inclusion of riparian communities through employment opportunities," he said.

On the growth of the national waterways, Sonowal said that compared to last year, there has been a growth of almost 7 per cent in the current financial year from April to November 2024 compared to last year.

He added that development of ports at Pandu in Guwahati and Dibrugarh will benefit the local stakeholders.

Sonowal said, the previous governments spent only Rs 1,400 crore from 1985 to 2014 for developing inland waterways, while nearly Rs 7,000 crore has been spent under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in last 10 years for making inland waterways system an easily accessible mode of transportation for carrying goods as well as passengers at a reasonable cost.

In a bid to improve the tourism sector through riverways, a target has been set to increase the number of cruise passengers up to 50 lakh, said Sonowal, adding that 15 cities of the country, including Guwahati will have metro water transport system in the near future.

- By Staff Reporter/ Correspondent