Govt to revamp Inland Vessel Act 1917

Jan 18, 2017: In a bid to develop inland waterways, the Ministry of Shipping is set to revamp the 100-year-old Inland Vessel Act. The proposed new version of the act has been sent to the law ministry for approval and once the bill is approved, it will be sent to the cabinet for consent, after which it will be introduced in Parliament. The bill is expected to be introduced in the parliament this summer session, according to media reports.

The Inland Vessel Act 1917 deals with matters related to inland water limits, safety of vessels, employment, pollution control and insurance. Under the proposed new law, the government wants to introduce changes pertaining to the extension of inland water limits, delegation of work between centre and states and higher penalties and fines in case of accidents and lapses.

Under the leadership of Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, Centre declared 106 additional inland waterways as National Waterways. Inland Waterways Authority India (IWAI) will develop the feasible stretch of National Waterways for shipping and navigation purpose through mobilisation of financial resources. The number of waterways to be declared as new National Waterways is now proposed as 106, the total number of National Waterways in the bill goes up to 111.

According to IWAI estimates, waterways are cheaper to develop than roadways and railways. Waterways cost around Rs 3 crore per km, compared to Rs 5-6 crore for roads and Rs 8-10 crore for railways.