VII. INLAND WATER TRANSPORT
- Kerala has 1687 Kms of Inland Waterways and 41 navigable rivers. There is immense potential for the development of Inland waterways for movement of cargo and passengers at comparatively cheaper cost and, if properly planned and developed, they can aid the development and promotion of tourism. Certain stretches can be developed mainly for attracting tourists. The main strategy should be to identify corridors with high potential for cargo and passengers as well as for attracting tourists and to establish connectivity of such identified corridors to other tourist destinations, the ports, especially Cochin port and centres of cargo and passenger traffic. But it must be attempted with caution and it should be ensured that the movement of materials and vessels do not pollute the waterways. The Ninth Plan outlay/expenditure and amount proposed by the Working Group for the Tenth Plan are given in Table - 9.
Table - 9
Ninth Plan Outlay and Working Group's projection for the Tenth Plan
(Rs. in lakhs)
Anticipated Expenditure X Plan Recommended by Working Group Inland Water Transport State Water Transport Dept. Coastal Shipping & Inland Navigation Dept. - Irrigation Dept. Kerala Shipping & Inland Navigation Corporation
- The main Inland Waterways in the State is the 560 Km long West Coast canal connecting Trivandrum in the south and Hosdurg in the north. A major portion of this comprising 168 Km from Kottappuram to Kollam has been declared in 1993 as National waterway No.3 by Govt. of India and with this the responsibility for further investment for development of the National waterway No.3 vests with Central Govt. The State Govt. should actively liase with Central Government to expedite the hitherto tardy pace of development of the infrastructure in the National Waterway No.3 and at the same time help Govt. of India with expeditious land acquisition, rehabilitation of affected persons etc.
- There are three main agencies of State Govt. active in the field of Inland Water Transport namely the Kerala Shipping & Inland Navigation Corporation, the State Water Transport Dept. and the Coastal Shipping and Inland Navigation Department. The main function of the SWT Dept. is the operation of boat services in the inland canals in Alappuzha, Kottaym and Ernakulam Districts. It has a sizeable fleet of boats but is handicapped by a large no. of old and unserviceable boats and a low fare structure. The Department, has been incurring losses for the last 25 years; beginning from a loss of Rs.11 lakhs in 1975, it has progressively increased to Rs. 75 lakhs in 1985, Rs. 189 lakhs in 1990, Rs.200 lakhs in 1995 and Rs.684 lakhs in 2000. The above loses represent only the difference between receipts and expenditure and if other factors such as depreciation, debt servicing even on a notional basis etc. are taken into account, the losses would be more staggering.
- The Kerala Shipping & Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) is transporting raw materials for FACT, drinking water to Vypeen and other island and also providing ferry services between Vypin and Ernakulam. It has been showing an operating profit (excess of revenue receipts over revenue expenditure). In 1997-98 operating profit was Rs.10.36 lakhs, in 1998-99, Rs. 50.63 lakhs and in 1999-2000 Rs. 44.39 lakhs. In this case also if all the normal its such as depreciation, debt servicing etc. are taken into account, the operating profits will be come down if not disappear altogether. As and when the Goshree bridges are completed, the ferry and Jhankar services between Vypeen and Ernakulam is likely to cease. Therefore this is an appropriate time for the concerned authorities to take a hard look at the prospects of this Company operating in a viable manner.
- The third agency acting in this area in the Irrigation Dept. which undertakes the execution of central schemes with generally attract funding to the extend of 50%, and State schemes. They are also implementing certain schemes assisted by World Bank and NABARD. These schemes include modernisation of boat jetties, modernisation of inland waterways etc.
- The field of activity of the aforesaid agencies covers the provision of infrastructure facilities and operation of various services of a commercial nature. The current trend of thinking of the role of Govt. is that prime importance should be given to the development of infrastructure. As mentioned in para 47 above, the development of National waterway No.3 is the responsibility of Central Govt. and any task entrusted to State Govt. in this regard should be undertaken with the Central funds. There are also certain schemes for development of infrastructure which attract central assistance to the extend of 50 %. Matching funds should be provided for such schemes as well as for externally aided and NABARD assisted schemes. In the field of commercial operations we have two agencies namely SWT Dept. and KSINC both under the Transport department. The State Water Transport Department is incurring huge losses in its operations and it requires infusion of substantial funds to replace/modernise its fleet of 86 boats. We have seen that KSINC has an operating profit which is in danger of disappearing with the curtailment of its operations as a result of Goshree bridges coming into existence. There is clearly no need for two State agencies having fleets of boats and crafts for carrying passengers and raw materials and there is a primafacie case for integrating the operations of the two under one organisation. Govt. should also examine whether State's presence in this sector is necessary. Commercial operation involving transportation of goods and passengers should be left to the private sector. Even when it is considered socially obligatory to continue a specified service in a particular sector and if the private sector is unwilling to do so for commercial reasons other measures such as offering a incentive by way of subsidy to private operators to run the service could be considered. There would also be a case for privatising KSINC. The opportunities for getting business in transportation of materials is potentially large which requires an efficient fleet as well as aggressive marketing. These can best be done by private agencies rather than by the Govt. agencies. The Plan Committee proposes an amount of Rs.7000.00 lakhs under the Inland Water Transport Sector as detailed in Annexure II (VII).