The Hindu Business Line : Panel to study feasibility of coal transportation thru waterways

Chennai, March 25 The Planning Commission has formed a new committee to assess the feasibility of coal transportation through waterways. The committee headed by Mr Kirit Parikh, Member (Energy), Planning Commission, will also recommend set of measures for ‘incentivising’ coastal power projects based on domestic and imported coal transported through waterways.

Other members in the committee include secretaries from the ministries of coal, power, shipping, and environment and forests; Chairman of Central Electricity Authority and Member (traffic) of Railway Board. Representatives from the maritime boards of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa and Gujarat are also in the committee.

Ms Mridula Krishna, Transport Economist and Financial Analyst, and Mr S.S. Rangnekar, Managing Director, Sical Logistics, are also in the committee.

Existing waterways status

The committee, which is to submit its report to the Planning Commission by June end, will go into the status of existing waterways, including inland waterways; capacities of loading and unloading facilities, port infrastructure; potential to create additional capacities for coal movement; potential to transport other commodity on return way (west/south to east) and recommend ways to avoid cross-transportation and multiple handling coal.

The committee will also look into integration of coal movement through waterways with existing and proposed rail/road network; techno-economic assessment of alternative modes of coal transportation, sources said.

Transport based on inland waterways or inland water transport (IWT) — rivers, canals, lakes and coastal shipping — constitute around 20 per cent of the transport sector in Germany and 32 per cent in Bangladesh. But in India, it is a paltry 0.15 per cent, according to a report on Viability of Inland Water Transport in India by Mr Narayan Rangaraj and Prof. G. Raghuram.

The IWT in India continues to be a significant area for investment such as Rs 300 crore investment planned by the Asian Development Bank (India Infrastructure 2004). It is also an important component of the National Maritime Development Project.

Three major waterways have been designated as National Waterways – the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly system from Allahabad to Haldia; Brahmaputra System in Assam and the west coast canal system in Kerala. Commercially, the tidal river system in Goa comprising the Zuari and Mandovi rivers and the Cumbarjua Canal is the most important. Over 30 million tonnes of iron ore was moved in these rivers in 2003-04, the report says.

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