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Inland waterways may get 5% of road cess

Shipping ministry has mooted a proposal to use part of the about Rs 8,000 crore fund for development of the waterways in the country

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The Union shipping ministry has proposed utilising 5% of Central Road Fund for developing inland waterways.

Shipping minister Nitin Gadkari said his ministry has sent a proposal to get a part of the Central Road Fund so that the ambitious plan of having a network of inland waterways can be developed.

Speaking at the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce's annual convention, Gadkari refused to share the amount expected from the Central Road Fund and said that the final decision will be taken by the Ministry of Finance.

Under the National Waterways Act 2016, a total of 111 inland waterways across 24 states have been declared as national waterways. Out of these, six are operational -- Allahabad-Haldia Ganga Waterway (NW1), Brahmaputra (NW2), West Coast Canal in Kerala (NW3), Mandovi River in Goa (NW 68), Sundarbans Waterway in West Bengal (NW97) and Zurari River (NW 111). Six more are likely to be commissioned during this financial year.

The Union government has an ambitious plan to tap vast network of rivers and canals stretching 14,500 km for moving goods as well as people.

In order to take a share of the fund, the Central Road Fund Act will have to be amended to include waterways too. Annually around Rs 8,000 crore is collected by levying Rs 2 per litre on petrol and diesel as cess. This fund is not only utilised for construction and maintenance of roads but also rail over and under bridges with the Indian Railways.

With the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways starting to award road projects under the hybrid annuity model (HAM), Gadkari said, "I also want to introduce HAM for inland waterways, just like road."

Under HAM 40%, of the project cost will be borne by the government to make the project economically feasible.

At present, cargo movement along the five existing national waterways is a paltry 3% of all cargo movement in India. "We want to raise the share of waterways in overall cargo movements to 15%," added Gadkari.

Last week, a cargo vessel carrying 200 vehicles from Varanasi to Kolkata was flagged off as part of a pilot run. The government has commissioned the Jal Marg Vikas project with the technical and financial support of the World Bank to augment capacity of Ganga river from Varanasi to Haldia. The Rs 4,200 crore project, expected to be completed in six years, will facilitate movement of up to 2,000 tonne vessels.

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