India has about 14,500 km of navigable inland waterways, including rivers, canals, backwaters, and creeks. Despite its potential to transport large volumes of goods and connectivity to rural areas, inland water transport accounts for a small amount of freight movement relative to other modes. Currently, the bulk of freight traffic is carried on three national waterways, NWs I, II, and III, and the Mumbai and Goa waterways.

The “Jal Marg Vikas” project involves the development of River Ganga stretch between Allahabad to enable commercial navigation of at least 1,500 tonne vessels. Multi-modal terminals are currently being developed at Varanasi, Haldia and Sahebganj, and a new navigational lock at Farraka is also planned. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has a target of achieving 9,286 km of National and State Waterways as well as feeder routes by 2020. The following action points will help increase the connectivity and efficiency of inland waterways in India-

• Streamline the governance of inland waterways- Currently, inland waterways are governed by multiple authorities including the Central Inland Water Corporation Limited (CIWTC Ltd), port authorities and state governments. Streamlining the regulatory structure and bringing an overarching body to oversee Inland Water Transport such as the IWAI will bring more consistency in the rules and strategy of the sector.
• Develop measures for year-round navigation- Currently, due to weather conditions, several inland waterways are only serviceable during a part of the year. The seasonality of this mode of transport reduces its adoption. Efforts should be made to develop deeper stretches of the river, i.e., at least 2.5 m to 3 m.
• The development of adequate depth will help achieve round the year navigation. Additionally, we should ensure adequate maintenance of rivers, including continuous dredging to maintain adequate water depth for servicing shipping lines, to facilitate year round serviceability.
• Ease restrictions on river-sea movement. River-sea movement, utilizing a single vessel for both inland and coastal waters, lowers transport costs and minimizes handling. However, differences in regulations, construction and operational standards and different survey and certification requirements prevent seamless movement across inland and coastal waterways. State authorities should draw up coordinates for inland vessel limits under the Inland Vessel Act for their coastal waters, in accordance with the direction provided by the Directorate General of Shipping. The Ministry of Shipping should also issue notifications for inland vessel limits under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. Coordinating the limits by both parties under the two acts will help facilitate river-sea movement.