OREANDA-NEWS. Minister of State for Shipping, Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan informed the Rajya Sabha today that  the Government has taken initiatives to increase the coastal movement of cargo in the country.The steps taken in this regard include:

(i)           A River-Sea Vessel (RSV) Notification for moderating the technical and manning requirements for vessels operating within the Indian territorial waters was issued by the Directorate General of Shipping on July 31, 2013.

(ii)          Directorate General of Shipping has issued an order declaring the

            Inland Vessel (IV) limits for facilitating coastal trade operations.

(iii)          Coastal Shipping Rules for coastal vessels operating within 20

            miles off the coast have been issued by the Directorate General of

            Shipping on March 4, 2014.

(iv)         Green Channel facility is being provided at major Ports for faster

            evacuation of coastal cargo.

(v)          Major ports have been directed to provide priority berthing to

            coastal vessels to reduce waiting times of such vessels at the

            major ports.

As per report of the National Transport Policy Committee (NTPC) of 1980, total waterways in the country navigable by country boats are about 14,500 km.   However, only 5,200 km of major rivers and 485 km of canals are suitable for mechanized crafts.  A table indicating state-wise navigable waterways in the country is given below:

 

Navigable Waterways in India

State

Navigable Waterways* in kms

 

Rivers

Canals

Total

Andhra Pradesh

309

1690

1999

Assam

1983

-

1983

Bihar

937

325

1262

Goa, Daman & Diu

317

25

342

Gujarat

286

-

286

Jammu & Kashmir

200

-

200

Karnataka

284

160

444

Kerala

840

708

1548

Maharashtra

501

-

501

Orissa

761

224

985

Tamil Nadu

-

216

216

Uttar Pradesh

2268

173

2441

West Bengal

1555

782

2337

 

All India Total

10241

4303

14544

 

* Navigable by country boats

Source:- National Transport Policy Committe Report (1980)