INLAND TRANSPORTATION

INLAND TRANSPORTATION

Rivers, lakes, canals, backwaters, and reservoirs primarily constitute the source for inland waterways. A stretch of water, not part of the sea, over which craft of a carrying capacity not less than 50 tonnes can navigate when normally loaded is called navigable inland waterway.

India’s Potential

• Navigable water and transportation: India has over 14,500 km of waters that can be navigated, which accounts only for about 1% of the country’s transportation. This includes canal backwaters, rivers, and creeks among many other types of water bodies.
• Small contribution of inland transport: Only a small percentage of trade is currently carried out through inland waterways and coastlines. Inland water transport accounts for about 0.4% of trade and thus yet to be explored.
• Logistic cost: It has been found that logistics costs in India account for about 18% of the country’s GDP, which is much higher than in other countries. This makes Indian goods costlier and less competitive. Logistics costs in the country can be brought down considerably by transporting more goods by waterways.
• Potential: Inland waterways have the potential of emerging as the leading logistical artery for the entire India, passing through India’s most densely populated areas and resource-rich regions, and generating an estimated 40% of India’s traded goods.
• Market access: The network of a water-road-rail link will help the region’s industries and manufacturing units to have a seamless flow of goods to markets in India and abroad. Further, it will also give wider market access to the farmers of this agriculturally-rich Gangetic plain.

Benefits of Inland Waterways Transport

• Fuel efficient: Inland water transport is considered to be the most cost-effective mode of transport from the point of view of fuel efficiency.
  • For example: According to the World Bank, 1 liter of fuel moves 105 ton-km by inland waterways but only 85 ton-km by rail and 24 ton-km by road.
• Low cost: Inland waterways need less capital for development and less maintenance costs.
  • For example: Cost of IWT is nearly 0.25 Rs/km, rail is 1.5 Rs/km, while road transport is 2.5 Rs/km.
• Fewer emissions: CO₂ emissions from container vessels are much less than road transport vehicles.
• Navigable: In India, around 14,500 km of river channels are navigable. But only 2,000 km is used.
• Export Promotion: Lower factor costs will make exports more competitive.
• Decongestion: It will decongest our choked highways and overburdened railways. There will be fewer accidents also.

• Better connectivity: It helps create seamless interconnectivity connecting hinterlands along navigable river coasts and coastal routes. Further, riverine routes are likely to play a crucial role in connecting the north-eastern states to the mainland.
• Job opportunity: Development of inland waterways will help in the generation of job opportunities.
• Growth: The development of waterways will stimulate industrial growth and tourism. It will also promote export and import as it reduces the logistics cost of moving cargo between ports and the hinterland. Fewer accidents and less congestion compared to roads.
• High capacity: It has an enormous capacity to carry bulk cargo, goods, etc.

Challenges

• Low transport speed: Inland waterways have low transport speed, thus not suitable where time is an important factor.
• Limited operation: It has a limited area of operation, depending on the infrastructural premises and depth of the waterways.
• Lack of end point service: There are only very few cases in which Inland Water Transport (IWT) can offer door-to-door transport of cargo.
• Operational disruptions: Due to weather is a major disadvantage.
• Water level issue: Erection of river canals and drawing of water from the river reduces the water level.
• Geographical hurdle: Larger rivers such as the Ganga and Brahmaputra create deltas in their mouths. Shallow water and deltas in the mouth of the river make connection with the ocean unsuitable.
• Problem with west-flowing rivers: West-flowing peninsular rivers meet the sea with estuaries, but river length is short, with steep gradients and frequent waterfalls, making them unsuitable for inland transportation.
• Siltation: Problem of siltation due to the high amount of load that Himalayan rivers bring.
• Shortage of MRO facilities: There is a severe shortage of MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) facilities for IWT vessels.
• Lack of funds: Dredging as well as infrastructure for IWT requires huge investments. However, both public and private funding in the sector is low.
• Shortage of IWT vessels: Vessel building is highly capital intensive and faces difficulties in obtaining project finance from banks and financial institutions.

Measures Taken for the Development of Inland Transport

1. Legislation:

• Inland Waterways Authority of India Act, 1985: The Act provides for the constitution of an Inland Waterways Authority for the regulation and development of inland waterways for the purposes of shipping and navigation and for related matters. It undertakes projects for development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grants received from the Ministry of Shipping.

• Indian Vessels Act of 1917 (amended in 2007): It deals with the survey and registration of inland vessels, removal of obstructions in navigation, carriage of goods and passengers, and the prevention and control of pollution.
• Inland Water Transport Policy 2001: The policy highlights IWT as an economic, fuel-efficient, and environmentally friendly mode of transport. It advocates for large-scale private sector participation both in the creation of infrastructure and fleet operations.
• National Waterways Act 2016: The Act declared 111 rivers or river stretches, creeks, and estuaries as National (inland) Waterways. It enables the Central Government to regulate these waterways for development concerning shipping, navigation, and transport through mechanically propelled vessels.
• Laws related to environmental and other impacts: Includes the Forest Act 1980, Environmental Protection Act 1986, and various notifications like the EIA Notification 2006 and CRZ Notification 2011.

2. Initiatives:

• Jal Marg Vikas Project: This project aims at capacity augmentation of navigation on National Waterway-1 (NW-1). It is being implemented by the Government of India with technical assistance and investment support from the World Bank.
• Sagarmala Project: Along with developing coastal shipping routes, this project seeks to leverage inland waterways to drive industrial development. It aims to reduce logistics costs by doubling the share of domestic waterways in the modal mix from the current 6%.
• Interlinking of Rivers Programme: This project is expected to offer potential benefits to the transport sector through enhanced navigation.

Way Forward

• Basic infrastructure development: Measures should be taken to develop basic infrastructure, address technological bottlenecks, and ensure the maintenance of rivers for year-round navigability.
• Passenger terminal development: The government should promote passenger terminal development, offer financial support to ferry operators to enhance safety, and facilitate insurance coverage to boost passenger transport.
• Strengthening public-private partnership: This approach is key in developing the inland waterways sector. Private players can undertake terminal development, cargo and passenger handling, and build low-draft vessels with related repair facilities.
• Multi-modal project: Measures should be taken to ensure seamless multimodal last-mile connectivity to and from the hinterland to reduce trans-shipment costs and make inland water transport economically viable.
• Follow International Best Practice:
  • China: China has an extensive inland waterway system with over 5,600 navigable rivers and 2,000 inland ports. IWT development is concentrated in areas such as the Yangtze River, Pearl River, Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta. With assistance from the World Bank, China has undertaken major initiatives to boost IWT.
    • Development of power generating dams: By-passing ship-locking systems and creating a deeper waterway to permit large vessels to navigate.
    • Three Gorges Project: Aims at improving electric power and navigation safety, reducing transportation costs, and developing the Hang-Yong Canal, connecting a network of six rivers to the Yangtze River.