The inland waterways plan will destroy India’s rivers

The Centre is keen on the mega plan despite the project’s suspect financials and adverse socio-economic impacts

On December 15, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) gave the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MOEF&CC) time until January 31 to clarify its position on the need for prior environment clearances for inland waterway transport (IWT) projects. On January 1, 50 experts and environmental activists wrote a letter to Union environment minister, Harsh Vardhan, urging him to make prior environmental clearances mandatory for IWT projects. Currently, clearances are issued on a case-to-case basis and are not mandatory. The National Waterways Act, 2016, identified 111 rivers or stretches as national waterways for commercial navigation. The Centre claims IWT is “fuel efficient, cost effective and environment friendly mode of transport …”. Such claims are neither unqualified nor universal. These 111 waterways will pass through 24 states and two Union Territories (20,274 km) and involve 138 river systems, creeks, estuaries and canal systems, and also cut through 20 wildlife-protected areas.

The plan does not take into account the monsoonal hydrology of India’s rivers when they are either too full or too low. So how will the Centre ensure that there is enough water round the year in the rivers for large ships to navigate them? This would then need physical interventions (dredging and dams). The Centre also needs to take into account two other factors: fuel consumption and vehicle speed will vary depending upon the direction of travel (downstream or upstream). A 2016 sector study into Waterway 1 (Ganga) found that “among the most visible weaknesses of IWT are the low transport speed and its limited area of operation, depending on the infrastructural premises and depth of the waterways, disruptions due to weather are other possible threats”.

The IWT will also need associated infrastructure such as jetties, river ports, terminals and access roads. According to a study by RITES: “Corresponding advantage of IWT over rail and road transport in terms of vehicle operating costs goes adverse when terminal costs involved in the case of IWT also forms part of comparison.” Facts such as the distance between Allahabad and Haldia through Waterway is 1,600 km compared to 900 km by road cannot be ignored. Clearly, the financials of IWT are not as healthy as they have been made out to be.

On the environment front, regular dredging of rivers will destroy their morphological integrity, flora and fauna and river-dependent livelihoods.