In the Union Budget proposals for the financial year 2013-13 Five inland waterways have been declared as National Waterways.
Announcing this in the budget proposals tabled in the Lok Sabha today Union Finance Minister Shri P.Chidambaram said the Minister of Water Resources will move a Bill in Parliament to declare the Lakhipur – Bhanga stretch of river Barak in Assam as the sixth national waterway. Preparatory work is underway to build a grid connecting waterways, roads and ports.
The 12th Plan has an adequate outlay for capital works, including dredging, on the national waterways. The objective is to choose barge operators, through competitive bidding, to transport bulk cargo on the national waterways. The first transport contract has been awarded in West Bengal from Haldia to Farakka.
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Press Release, February 28, 2013