Parliament Question: Jal Vahak Scheme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2239 ANSWERED ON 31.07.2026 JAL VAHAK SCHEME

2239. SHRI KESINENI SIVANATH:

Will the Minister of PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS be pleased to state: प(cid:517)न, पोत प(cid:303)रवहन और जलमाग(cid:330) मं(cid:361)ी

(a) whether the Government maintains data regarding the number of cargo owners operating in the country, if so, the details thereof, State-wise;

(b) the number of cargo owners registered and approved for receiving incentives under the Jal Vahak Scheme indicating the incentive disbursed to beneficiaries so far, State- wise;

(c) the number of scheduled services being offered under the scheme along with the total number of vessels operating for such services;

(d) whether the Government is monitoring vessel utilization capacity and the average cost incurred per trip for these scheduled services and if so, details thereof;

(e) the details regarding feedback obtained from cargo owners under both components of the scheme including the criteria adopted for selecting waterways and routes covered under the Jal Vahak Scheme; and

(f) whether the performance assessment of the scheme has been completed and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS (SHRI SARBANANDA SONOWAL)

(a) & (b) The data of cargo owners operating in the country is not centrally maintained.

The number of cargo owners registered and approved for receiving incentives under the Jalvahak Scheme are 12 and 7 respectively. Six cargo owners are registered in West Bengal, four in Assam, and one each in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. No incentive has been disbursed till date as none of the above mentioned entities has submitted any claim for cargo movement.(c) Under the Jalvahak Scheme, scheduled services are being operated on National Waterway (NW)-1 between Varanasi and Kolkata, and between Kolkata and Pandu, Guwahati (NW-2) via the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) Route. Eight Inland Water Transport (IWT) vessels are currently operating under scheduled services.

(d) The average capacity utilization of vessels for scheduled services and the average

cost per trip are as under:

Scheduled services Average capacity utilization of Average cost per operating between vessels (in percentage) trip (in Rs.) Kolkata and Varanasi 79.34 21,43,968 Kolkata and Pandu(Guwahati) 71.05 33,31,957

(e) Feedback received from cargo owners, namely Tata Steel, Ultratech Cement, Birla White cement, and Stone Aggregate on scheduled services is encouraging. They have indicated that scheduled services on NW-1 and NW-2 have enhanced confidence in IWT and facilitated repeat business. However, there is no feed back on incentive to cargo owners as no claim for movement has been made.

(f) During 2025-26, the performance of scheduled services on NW-1 and NW-2 has demonstrated a growth in cargo volume and 104.7% increase against annual target of 16,800 tonnes. *****