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Gadkari To Allocate Rs 2,500 Crore From Central Road Fund To Development Of Inland Waterways
Nitin Gadkari (Photo Credit: PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/GettyImages)
Expanding on the government’s ambitious multi-modal transport scheme which includes road, rail and waterways, a panel of secretaries from various departments are considering a proposal to allocate Rs 2,500 crore from the Central Road Fund (CRF) to develop inland waterways. The CRF is a fund created by taxes on the sale of petrol and diesel to build and maintain National and State Highways as well as railway bridges.
Waterways currently transport six per cent of freight and the government plans to double this by 2025. India has five operational waterways with 106 in the pipeline. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has a target of achieving 9,286 km of National and State Waterways as well as feeder routes by 2020.
Some measures such as an amendment in the CRF Act will be needed to implement this proposal. If passed, it will create a more conducive environment for both the Inland and Coastal shipping sectors. Union Minister for Shipping, Nitin Gadkari has been pushing for water transport for some time now, we hope he succeeds.
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