Kerala is looking up to the Centre to part-finance the upgrade of the West Coast Canal, extending from Colachel to Kasaragod, into National Waterway III.
The State has sought 50% funding from the Centre for developing the stretch from Kovalam to Kasaragod so that the project could be implemented on 50:50 cost-sharing basis. This was one of the key points contained in the memorandum submitted by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he reached Kochi on Saturday for the launch of the Kochi metro.
Kerala hopes that the Centre would respond positively to its demand as Union Minister for Road Transport and Shipping Nitin Gadkari has proposed a special purpose vehicle and cost-sharing to develop the inland waterways in the south.
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The government is moving as per the LDF manifesto that highlights the need to develop inland waterways and feeder routes, port hinterland connectivity and high speed ferry and 5% cargo by inland water transport in five years.
With the NW III extension, this will be an inter-State tidal waterway of over 700 km, parallel to the coast, coastal highway and rail. The Colachel-Kasaragod waterway can provide many solutions to the issues faced in the road corridors of Kerala and adjoining Tamil Nadu as it can absorb the freight traffic moving through road.
Of the 700-km inter-State coastal waterway with major port connectivity, the stretches declared as NW in Kerala so far are Kollam-Kottapuram, Champakara/Udyogamandal, Kottapuram-Kozhikode, Kottayam-Changanassery, Kottayam-Alappuzha and Athirampuzha -Kottayam-Alappuzha.
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The stretch from Kozhikode to Kasaragod and from Kovalam to Kolllam needs to be declared as NW III. “This should be the top priority while developing inland waterway and the State should secure full funding for it from the Centre,” former member, Technical, Inland Waterway Authority of India (IWAI), and Chairman, Working Group of the State Planning Board, R.M. Nair, told The Hindu .
Along with this, the government should expedite the completion of the Kollam-Kottapuram, Champakara/Udyogamandal stretch that was declared as NW III way back in 1993. Mr. Nair said the financial support and commitment by the Centre for inland waterway development was a constitutional obligation and Kerala should push for Central funding rather than going for special purpose vehicle and sharing the cost.
The SPV, joint venture and public private partnership as in the case of NH should be explored for individual projects of KSINC, development of locks to enable movement of bigger vessels and for land acquisition and land development for inland waterway, he added.