The Inland Waterway Authority of India’s (IWAI) nod has been made mandatory for constructing bridges and other structures on or across the national waterways (NW).
Henceforth, for any bridge or other structures on a highway to be constructed across any of the 111 NWs in the country, a proposal for getting the nod needs to be submitted to the IWAI for mandatory approval before commencing construction.
To avoid delay, the IWAI has been asked by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to give its nod in 45 days of receipt of such requests. A directive to seek the IWAI’s no-objection certificate has been communicated by the MoRTH to all Chief Secretaries.
Official sources said the PWD had instructed field engineers to follow the directive in future bridge design works.
The directive assumes significance in the wake of 106 NWs being added to the existing five NWs and the works being taken up to augment road infrastructure.
The Kollam- Kozhikode stretch of West Coast Canal and the Chempakara and Udyogmandal canals figure on NW 3, Alappuzha- Changanassery Canal under NW 8, Alappuzha- Kottayam Athirampuzha Canal under NW 9, AVM Canal connecting Poovar beach to Erayamanthurai in Tamil Nadu under NW 13, and Kottayam-Vaikom Canal under NW 59.
The vertical and horizontal clearance needed for river classification categories from I to VII and for canal classification categories I to VI have also been notified by the IWAI.
For right-angled bridge structures constructed over any declared NW (river or canal), the navigational vertical clearance (above high flood level) and the horizontal clearance (clear span for the bridge structure) requirements will be decided considering minimum requirements.
For waterways other than NW, the agencies had been asked to take guidance of the IWAI or the state government concerned to understand the navigational potential and provide practically possible maximum navigational clearances.
Welcoming the move, former Member, IWAI, Technical, R.M. Nair told The Hindu that the authorities should also take steps to upgrade NW 3 from Class III to IV so that vessels up to 2,000 tonnage could operate on the NW stretches in the State.
“Further, it will help the same vessel to move throughout and to the ports. It will come in handy in view of the development of ports in the State,” he added.
