National waterways bill 2015

Presented by:Dipak kumar sah BBA 5th semester

Introduced in Lok Sabha on May 5, 2015

by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping, Mr. Nitin Gadkari.  Under Entry 24 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, the central

government can make laws on shipping and navigation on inland waterways which are classified as national waterways by Parliament by law. 

Currently there are five inland waterways that are declared as national waterways under five different laws.

The Bill identifies additional 101 waterways as national waterways.  The Schedule of the Bill also specifies the extent of development to be undertaken on each waterway.

The Bill repeals the five Acts that declare the existing national waterways.  These five national waterways are now covered under the Bill.

The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill states

that while inland waterways are recognized as a

fuel efficient,

cost effective

and environment friendly mode of transport,

it has received lesser investment as compared to roads and railways.  Since inland waterways are lagging behind other modes of transport, the central government has evolved a policy for integrated development of inland waterways.  

Five inland waterways, namely, the—

(a) Allahabad-Haldia Stretch of the Ganga Bhagirathi-Hooghly River;

(b) Sadiya-Dhubri Stretch of Brahmaputra River;

(c) Kollam-Kottapuram Stretch of West Coast Canal and Champakara and

Udyogmandal Canals;

(d) Kakinada-Puducherry Stretch of Canals and the Kaluvelly Tank,

Bhadrachalam-Rajahmundry Stretch of River Godavari and Wazirabad-Vijayawada

Stretch of River Krishna; and

(e) Talcher-Dhamra Stretch of Rivers, Geonkhali-Charbatia Stretch of East Coast

Canal, Charbatia-Dhamra Stretch of Matai River and Mahanadi Delta Rivers; have been so far declared to be national waterways by Acts of Parliament.

Thank you