Mumbai: Fifteen (15) National Waterways in Maharashtra were declared vide National Waterways Act, 2016 with a total length of 3089 Kms, details of these NWs are at Annexure-1.Out of these, Six (6) National Waterways are operational for a total length of 530 Kms. The operational National waterways are NW-10(River Amba), NW-53 (Kalyan-Thane-Mumbai Waterway, Vasai Creek and Ulhas River), NW-83 (Rajpuri Creek), NW-85 (Revadanda creek and Kundalika River), NW-91 (Shastri River-Jaigad creek), and NW-73 (River Narmada).

The details of fund allocated, utilization and timelines are at Annexure – 2.

The focus of the Government is on the development of National Waterways declared under the National Waterways Act, 2016 .

No proposal for development of National Waterways in Maharashtra is pending before the Government for approval.

Inland Water Transport mode is a cheaper mode of transport vis a vis other modes of transport i.e. Road/Rail and modal shift of commodities to this mode may reduce the logistics cost. The major industrialization along the River Banks of Tapi (NW-100), River Amba (NW-10), River Jaigad Creek-Shastri River (NW-91) is a prime example which collectively moves around 98.67 MMT per annum of Cargo on inland waterways. These NWs connect to local hinterland as well as EXIM gateways. Primarily, as of now Raigad, Mumbai and Ratnagiri District are the beneficiaries.

This information was given by the The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.