To promote Inland Water Transport in the country 111 waterways (including 5 existing and 106 new) have been declared as National Waterways (NWs) under the National Waterways Act, 2016 which came into effect from 12th April, 2016.
Bulk cargo like coal, fly-ash and iron ore are found economical & cost-effective for movement through Inland Water Transport (IWT) which is environment friendly and less pollutant mode of transport than Rail & Road. The cargo through Inland Ship is transported in barges and there is no direct contact of the cargo with water and therefore no ecological impacts.
Operation of Ferries is a State subject.
Inland Water Transport mode is widely recognized as environment friendly and cost effective mode of transport. As per RITES Report of 2014 on Integrated National Waterways Transportation Grid, some of the important benefits of IWT mode compared to rail and road transportation arefuel efficiency and cost savings as given below:
- 1 Litre of fuel moves 24 tonne – km on road, 95 tonne-km on rail and 215 tonne-km on IWT.
- Comparative cost for movement of freight.
| Mode | Railways | Highways | IWT |
| Freight (Rs./T.km) | 1.36 | 2.50 | 1.06 |
In addition to the economic and environmental benefits, IWT aims to create for the shippers and logistic players, an alternative to the two dominant modes of transport viz. road and rail.
Some of the Important National Waterways are:
| Sl. No. | National Waterway No. | Details of Waterways | STATES |
| 1 | National Waterway 1 | Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System (Haldia – Allahabad) | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal |
| 2 | National Waterway 2 | Brahmaputra River (Dhubri – Sadiya) | Assam |
| 3 | National Waterway 16 | Barak River | Assam |
| 4 | National Waterway 3 | West Coast Canal (Kottapuram – Kollam), Champakara and Udyogmandal Canals | Kerala |
| 5 | National Waterway 4 | Krishna River (Vijayawada – Muktyala) | Andhra Pradesh |
| 6 | National Waterway 5 | Dhamra-Paradio via Mangalagadi to Pankopal | Odisha |
| 7 | National Waterway 8 | Alappuzha- Changanassery Canal | Kerala |
| 8 | National Waterway 9 | Alappuzha-Kottayam – Athirampuzha Canal | Kerala Alternate route: 11.5km |
| 9 | National Waterway 27 | Cumberjua River | Goa |
| 10 | National Waterway 68 | Mandovi River | Goa |
| 11 | National Waterway 86 | Rupnarayan River | West Bengal |
| 12 | National Waterway 97 | Sunderbans Waterway | West Bengal |
| 13 | National Waterway 111 | Zuari River | Goa |
| 14 | National Waterway 10 | Amba River | Maharashtra |
| 15 | National Waterway 40 | Ghagra River | Bihar |
| 16 | National Waterway 44 | Ichamati River | West Bengal |
| 17 | National Waterway 52 | Kali River | Karnataka |
| 18 | National Waterway 57 | Kopili River | Assam |
| 19 | National Waterway 25 | Chapora River | Goa |
| 20 | National Waterway 37 | Gandak River | Bihar |
| 21 | National Waterway 28 | Dabhol Creek Vasisti River | Maharashtra |
| 22 | National Waterway 73 | Narmada River | Maharashtra & Gujarat |
| 23 | National Waterway 85 | Revadanda Creek – Kundalika River System | Maharashtra |
| 24 | National Waterway 94 | Sone River | Bihar |
| 25 | National Waterway 100 | Tapi River | Maharashtra & Gujarat |
Categories: POINT IAS
POINT IAS 