Planning Commission advised the centre todevelop commercially viable stretches of national waterway (NW) 4 and 5 underPublic Private Partnership (PPP) mode with Viability Gap Funding (VGF). Theadvice comes following the inability of the centre to develop these waterwaysbecause of non availability of funds during the 11th Plan.   

These two water ways are Kakinada-Puducherrycanals along with Godavari and Krishna rivers, and East Coast Canal integratedwith Brahmani river and Mahanadi delta rivers. Minister of State for Shipping, MukulRoy informed this in Lok Sabha.

 

Of the five national waterways in thecountry, the centre has not provided basic inland water transport relatedinfrastructure to the above two waterways. The other three waterways have thesefacilities, which include navigational channel with least available depth indifferent stretches depending upon their hydro-morphological characteristics, anumber of fixed and floating terminals and navigational aids.

 

These infrastructural facilities are beingmaintained or further developed on year to year basis depending upon availableresources. The three waterways are Ganga –Bhagirathi- Hooghly river system, RiverBrahmaputra (Dhubri – Sadiya), West Coast Canal (Kottapuram – Kollam) alongwith Udyogmandal and Champakara Canals.