Shipping ministry urges funds for transport projects under JNNURM.

In a move to reduce congestion on rail and road networks, shipping ministry has asked the urban development ministry to provide funds for water transport projects such as inland waterways and coastal shipping projects under the flagship urban infrastructure augmentation programme JNNURM.

Shipping secretary Vishwapati Trivedi told TOI that he wrote to the UD ministry to include inland waterway projects to be eligible for financial assistance from Centre about three months back. 'Last week I also wrote to them that coastal shipping projects should be included in this list. When the focus is on decongesting the road and rail corridors, funding for only buses in cities won't be enough. Waterways can off take the load on our traditional transport corridors,' he added on the sidelines of India Maritime Week in the capital.

Even recently, Assam government had submitted a proposal seeking fund under JNNURM to implement inland waterway projects in the state. But these could not be cleared since such activities are not eligible for funding under this scheme.


TOI