Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India. It was constituted under IWAI Act-1985 by the Parliament of India.http://iwai.nic.in/showfile.php?lid=882 See section 3 of the act Its headquarters is located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. The total navigable length is 14,500 km, out of which about 5200 km of the river and 4000 km of canals can be used by mechanised crafts. Freight transportation by waterways is highly under-utilised in India compared to other large countries and geographic areas like the United States, China and the European Union. The total cargo moved (in tonne kilometres) by the inland waterway was just 0.1% of the total inland traffic in India, compared to the 21% figure for the United States. Cargo transportation in an organised manner is confined to a few waterways in Goa, West Bengal, Assam, and Kerala.
It does the function of building the necessary infrastructure in these waterways, surveying the economic feasibility of new projects and also administration. On 31 August 2018, IWAI made 13 standardised state-of-art design public for the transportation of cargo and passengers keeping in mind Ganges complex river morphology, hydraulics, acute bends, currents etc. in National Waterway 1. The first implementation will be between Varanasi-Haldia stretch in assistance and investment from the World Bank.
History Inland Waterways Authority of India was created by the Government of India on 27 October 1986 for development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation. The Authority primarily undertakes projects for development and maintenance of Inland Waterway Terminal infrastructure on National Waterways through grant received from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Road Transport and Highways. The head office is at Noida. The Authority also has its regional offices at Varanasi, Patna, Kolkata, Guwahati Bhubaneswar and Kochi and sub-offices at Prayagraj, Bhagalpur, Sahibganj, Farrakka, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Vijayawada, Goa and Kollam.
Classifications and standards +ClassificationTonnageLength (M)Breadth (M)Draught (M)Air Draft (M)Barge CompositionClass-110032514Self Propelled200805142 Barges + 1 TugClass-23004581.25Self Propelled60011081.252 Barges + 1 TugClass-35005891.56Self Propelled100014191.562 Barges + 1 TugClass-4100070121.87Self Propelled2000170121.872 Barges + 1 TugClass-5100070121.810Self Propelled4000170241.8102*2 Barges + 1 TugClass-6200086142.510Self Propelled4000210142.5102 Barges + 1 TugClass-7200086142.510Self Propelled8000210282.5102*2 Barges + 1 Tug
Budget Till 2010, an amount of was spent on Inland waterways of India.
Executives Sushil Kumar Lohani is the current Chairman of the Authority.
National waterways
Based on the data available on navigable waterways, compiled by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, by 2015–16 a total of 106 water bodies with a minimum length of were declared as national waterways. These have been classified into 3 categories based on financial viability and location as well as into 8 clusters based on locations. In first phase, 8 national water (NW) of category-1 that are considered most viable will be developed. There are 60 category II NWs in coastal regions with tidal stretches and feasibility reports for 54 of these (6 are in phase-1) will be delivered from May 2016 onwardsGovt groups 106 national waterways into 3 categories
National Waterway 1
Prayagraj–Haldia stretch of the Ganges–Bhagirathi–Hooghly river system. Estd = October 1986 Length = Fixed terminals = Haldia, Kolkata, Sahibganj, Farrakka and Patna. Floating terminals = Haldia, Kolkata, Diamond Harbour, Katwa, Tribeni, Baharampur, Jangipur, Bhagalpur, Munger, Semaria, Doriganj, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chunar, Varanasi and Prayagraj Cargo Movement = 4 million tonnes
National Waterway 2
Sadiya–Dhubri stretch of Brahmaputra river it provides connectivity with mainland India through the India Bangladesh Protocol Rule Estd = September 1988 Length = Fixed terminals = Pandu. Floating terminals = Dhubri, Jogighopa, Tezpur, Silghat, Dibrugarh, Jamuguri, Bogibil, Saikhowa and Sadiya Cargo Movement = 2 million tonnes
National Waterway 3
Kozhikode–Kollam stretch of the West Coast Canal, Champakara Canal and Udyogmandal Canal. Estd = February 1993 Length = Fixed terminals = Aluva, Vaikom, Kayamkulam, Kottappuram, Maradu, Cherthala, Thrikkunnapuzha, Kollam and Alappuzha Cargo Movement = 1 million tonne
National Waterway 4
Kakinada–Puducherry stretch of canals and the Kaluvelly Tank, Bhadrachalam – Rajahmundry stretch of River Godavari and Wazirabad – Vijayawada stretch of River Krishna Estd = November 2008 Length =
National Waterway 5
Talcher–Dhamra stretch of the Brahmani River, the Geonkhali – Charbatia stretch of the East Coast Canal, the Charbatia–Dhamra stretch of Matai River and the Mangalgadi – Paradip stretch of the Mahanadi River Delta Established = November 2008 Length =
National Waterway 6
NW-6 is a waterway between Lakhipur and Bhanga of the Barak River. In Assam, Lakhipur to Bhanga stretch of Barak River. Estd = 2016 Length =
See also Indian Railways Inland Vessels Act, 2021 List of national waterways in India National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Transport in India
References
External links Official Website
de:Verkehr in Indien