Description

The Cabinet of the Union on June 16, 2021, approved the Inland Vessel Bill  2021, which will streamline and regulate the course of inland navigation vessels in the country, said Mansukh Mandavia, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways of the Union. The Inland Vessel Bill 2021 will replace the Inland Navigation Vessels Act 1917.

During a press conference, Trade Union Minister Mansukh Mandavia said that the 2021 Inland Courts Act would promote economical and safe transport as well as trade on inland waterways. He added that the bill will contain provisions on safe navigation, protection of cargo and prevention of environmental pollution during the use of inland navigation vessels.

About Inland Vessel Bill 

The 2021 Inland Navigation Vessels Act, passed by the Cabinet of the Union, will help streamline and regulate inland navigation vessels plying inland waterways in the country. The bill will ensure the safety and registration of inland navigation vessels.

What are the features of the bill?

• The Inland Navigation Vessels Bill of 2021 will act as a single law for the country instead of separate rules set by the states.
• The draft law will help to create a central database for keeping records of registration of ships, crew and information about ships on the electronic portal.
• The bill will require all non-powered vessels to also register at the district, taluk, panchayat or village level.
• The bill expands the scope of “inland waters” to include national waterways and the tidal water limit announced by the central government.
• The bill also provides for pollution control measures for inland navigation vessels. The bill will assist the government in compiling a list of pollutants indicating substances, chemicals, etc.

Inland waterway transport in India

At the moment, the country has 4 thousand kilometers of inland waterways. The country has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways, including rivers, backwaters, canals, streams, etc. 111 waterways have been declared national waterways under the National Waterways Law 20216.

Inland waterway transport (IWT) in the country is an economical and environmentally friendly way of transporting about 55 million tons of cargo. Nevertheless, weapons and military equipment in India is used extremely underutilized in comparison with developed countries.

IWT operations are limited to the Godavari-Krishna deltas, the inland waters of Mumbai, the backwaters in Kerala, the Goa rivers and several systems in the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hoogli, Barak and Brahmaputra rivers. river. Inland waterway transport in India has the potential to help reduce the burden on congested roads and overloaded railways.

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