The Inland Vessels Bill, 2021 was introduced in Lok Sabha on July 22, 2021 and was passed on July 29, 2021. Thereafter, it was passed in Rajya Sabha on August 02, 2021. On August 11, 2021, it got the presidential assent and became The Inland Vessels Act, 2021, which replaced the Inland Vessels Act, 1917. The new act provides for the regulation of inland vessel navigation by states including the registration of vessels, safe carriage of goods and passengers, etc.
The Inland Vessels Act, 1917 and Limitations
The Inland Vessels Act, 1917 had limited applicability and purposes. It had undergone several amendments, the last major ones in 1977 and 2007. It had provisions for restrictive movement of mechanically propelled vessels within the jurisdiction of the state government, for requirement of endorsements, limited applicability and validity of certificates, non-uniform standards and regulations that differed from state to state. Such provisions created hindrances and hurdles in seamless navigation across states and development of the sector.
Significance of the Act
The new act brings a uniform regulatory framework for inland vessel navigation throughout the country. India’s inland waterways, which spans close to 15,000 km across rivers, channels, and backwaters, etc., will be developed as a suitable and flourishing mode of transport, especially as a supplement to freight movement across India.
It also seeks to promote transparency and accountability of administration of inland water transportation in order to strengthen procedures governing the inland vessels, their construction, survey, registration, manning, navigation, and other related matters. It will promote economical and safe cargo transportation in the inland water.
The inland mode of transport is quite economical. As per a government study conducted by Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited (RITES), one litre of fuel moves 24 tonne-km on road; 95 tonne-km on rail, and 215 tonne-km on inland waterways. It takes about ` 2.50 to move a tonne of cargo over a kilometre on highways, ` 1.36 on railways, and ` 1.06 on inland waterways. It is also environment friendly and has the potential to reduce pollution.
Key Highlights of the Act
Some of the key highlights of the act are as follows:
- Mechanically Propelled Inland Vessels The act includes vessels such as ships, boats, sailing vessels, container vessels, and ferries under the category of mechanically propelled inland vessels. The central government will prescribe the classification; standards of design, construction, and crew accommodation; and type and periodicity of surveys for such vessels. Prior approval of a designated authority as prescribed by the central government will be required for construction or modification of such vessels.
- Registration and Operation All the above-mentioned vessels must have a certificate of survey, granted by state governments in a form prescribed by the central government, and a certificate of registration, granted by the registrar of inland vessels appointed by the state government or union territory. The certificate will be valid in the entire country for inland water operation as it will indicate the inland water zones (areas of operation to be demarcated by states) for such vessels. Besides, the vessels must also obtain an insurance policy to cover liability for death, injury, or damage caused due to the usage of the vessel (including accidental pollution).
- Navigation Safety In order to ensure navigation safety, all such vessels will be required to follow certain guidelines for signals and equipment, specified by the central government. If faced by any navigation hazard, the master of the concerned vessel must immediately send a danger or distress signal to other such vessels in proximity and to the concerned state government. If a vessel master fails to provide assistance after answering a distress call, there is provision of penalty on him. He will be penalised with a fine of up to ` 10,000, unless he is unable to do the same on certain specified grounds.
- Inquiry Instances of accident aboard such vessels must be reported to the head officer of the nearest police station as well as to an authority appointed by the state government. The state may require the District Magistrate (DM) to look into the matter and submit a report recommending actions to be taken.
- Manning Requirements The minimum number of people that vessels must have for undertaking various roles will be prescribed by the central government. violation of norms will attract a penalty of up to ` 10,000 for the first offence, and ` 25,000 for subsequent offences.
In addition, the central government will prescribe the standards for qualification, training, examination, and grant of certificate of competency. The certificate will indicate the fitness of the recipients to serve in the specified capacities. These certificates will be granted by state governments.
- Prevention of Pollution The central government will formulate the standards related to discharge or disposal of sewage by these vessels. A list of pollutants which will be prohibited for discharge or disposal will be notified. Vessels will be granted a certificate of prevention of pollution by the state government as per the form prescribed by the central government.
- Database on Inland Vessels An electronic centralised record of data on inland vessels will be maintained by the central government. It will cover information on registration of vessels, crew and manning, and certificates issued.
- Development Fund Under the act, a development fund will be established by each state government. The contribution to the funds will come from schemes of state governments, stakeholders, and collections from sale of wreck or cargo. It will be used for various purposes like emergency preparedness, containment of pollution, and boosting inland water navigation.
- Non-Mechanically Propelled Inland Vessels The act empowers state governments to entrust certain functions concerned with non-mechanically propelled inland vessels to their local governments. The list indicates collating data and conducting advisory programmes for owners, operators, and users of such vessels. The criteria related to size, purpose, age, and design, etc., for identification and categorisation of such vessels will be prescribed by the state governments.
National Waterways
The government notified 111 inland waterways as National Waterways of India (NWIs) under the National Waterways Act, 2016. only 13 national waterways are in operation for shipping and navigation (cargo/passenger).
India’s inland waterways carry about 55 million tonnes of cargo every year. The sector has been underutilised so far as the movement is currently restricted to Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly, Brahmaputra, Barak, rivers in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai, and deltaic regions of Godavari-Krishna rivers.
Currently, the 13 operational waterways are as follows:
- NW-1 (1,620 km) Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system (Haldia–Allahabad), states: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal
- NW-2 (891 km) Brahmaputra river (Dhubri–Sadiya), Assam
- NW-3 West Coast Canal (Kottapuram–Kollam), Champakara and Udyogmandal Canals (205 km), West Coast Canal (Kottapuram–Kozhikode) (170 km), Kerala
- NW-4 Kakinada Canal (Kakinada–Rajahmundry), (50 km);
Godavari river (Bhadrachalam–Rajahmundry), (171 km); Eluru Canal (Rajahmundry–Vijayawada), (139 km); Krishna river (Wazirabad–Vijayawada), (157 km); Commamur Canal (Vijayawada–Peddaganjam), (113 km); North Buckingham Canal (Peddaganjam–Central Station of Chennai), (316 km); South Buckingham canal (Central Station of Chennai–Marakanam), (110 km); Marakanam to Puducherry through Kaluvelly tank, (22 km); Godavari river (Bhadrachalam–Nashik), (1,202 km); Krishna river (Wazirabad–Galagali), (636 km); states: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Pondichery, and Maharashtra - NW-5 East Coast Canal and Matai river, (256 km), Brahmani-Kharsua-Dhamra rivers, Mahanadi delta rivers (consisting of Hansua river, Nunanala, Gobrinala, Kharnasi river, and Mahanadi river) (67 km); states: Odisha and West Bengal
- NW-6 (68 km) Aai river, Assam
- NW-7 (90 km) Ajoy (Ajay) river, West Bengal
- NW-8 (29 km) Alappuzha—Changanassery Canal, Kerala
- NW-9 Alappuzha–Kottayam–Athirampuzha Canal, (40 km), Kerala; (Alternate Route 11.5 km)
- NW-10 (45 km) Amba river, Maharashtra
- NW-11 (99 km) Arunawati–Aran River System Maharashtra
- NW-12 (5.5 km) Asi river, Uttar Pradesh; and
- NW-13 (11 km) AVM Canal, states: Kerala and Tamil Nadu
Inland Waterways Authority of India
Inland Waterways Authority of India was set up in 1986 for the development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation. Its basic function is to undertake projects for development and maintenance of inland water transport (IWT) infrastructure on national waterways with grants provided by the shipping ministry. It is headquartered at Noida (Uttar Pradesh).
Criticism
The act has been criticised on the ground that it takes away rights of the states and interferes with the federal structure.
On the contrary, the government says that presently the sector is governed by the Inland Vessels Acts, 1917, which has become inadequate to address the increasing complexities and operational bottleneck of the sector.
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