Inland Water Transport (IWT) is a fuel efficient and environment friendly mode of transportation. India is richly endowed with navigable waterways, comprising rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. It is estimated that a total of about 14500 km of the waterways could be used for passenger and cargo movement. About 55 million tonnes of cargo is being moved annually by inland water transport. But, this means of transport is important only in few States, namely, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Mumbai, Goa and Kerala. Also, it is operational only in restricted stretches of Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly rivers; the Brahmaputra river; the Barak river; the rivers in Goa; the backwaters in Kerala; inland waters in Mumbai and the deltaic regions of the Godavari-Krishna rivers.

Besides, the capacity of this sector is under-utilised, because most navigable waterways suffer from hazards like shallow water and narrow width of channel during dry weather; silting of river beds and erosion of banks; absence of adequate infrastructural facilities like terminals for loading and berthing and surface road links.

Hence, as a part of the Government's policy to optimally develop and harness the potential of Inland Waterways in the country, the 'Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)' was set up under the 'Inland Waterways Authority of India Act, 1985' . The IWAI has been established for the development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Inland Waterways Authority of India Act, 1985, empowers the Government to declare waterways with potential for development of shipping and navigation as National Waterways.

Currently, three waterways have been declared as National Waterways :-

1. National Waterway No.1:- The Ganga between Allahabad-Haldia (1620 km) in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal;



2. National Waterway No.2:- The Sadiya-Dhubri stretch of river Brahmaputra (891 km) in Assam; and



3. National Waterway No.3:- The Kollam-Kottapuram stretch of West Coast Canal along with Champakara and Udyogmandal Canals (205 km) in Kerala.

Also, in order to provide an impetus to the development of inland water transport mode, an 'Inland Water Transport Policy' has been announced. It includes several fiscal concessions and guidelines for encouraging private sector participation in development of infrastructure and ownership and operation of inland vessels. IWAI is also authorized for joint ventures and equity participation in BOT projects.

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