by Michael Fisher

PANAJI: The Goa government is considering going ahead with plans by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to turn all Goa rivers to national waterways on conditions that the authority meets all its `rigid’ proposals plus give it the major power over the management of the rivers.

As a pilot project, the Captain of Ports (CoP), representing the state government, is suggesting negotiating Zuari River as national waterways extending west of Zuari Bridge onwards up to the mouth of the river.

The CoP has proposed three investment models to the IWAI chairman, S P Gaur and is awaiting reply. The models are — 1 development and regulation by the state government. All powers of expenditure, revenue and regulation must vest with the state government; 2 a private and public partnership (PPP) model of development with other stakeholders and the government, and 3 the responsibility of infrastructure development to vest with IWAI.

The CoP has proposed the formation of a fresh committee to jointly discuss the advantages on the issue of declaration of the national waterways in Goa with the representative of IWAI and the Ministry of Shipping. The issue of goods and barge taxes needs to be cleared. Clarity needs to be obtained on various jurisdiction functions and powers of the state government.

CoP is thinking on how to address the problem of 3.20 meters sand bar at the mouth of Aguada Bay which forms regularly and is a natural phenomena according to NIO, hence vessels greater than the depth of 3.20 meters cannot ply the river. Also widths of the waterways cannot be increased, hence bottlenecks at various places in the rivers will add up to the safety concern in the rivers.

The proposal for the formation of a maritime board in Goa needs to be addressed along with its Acts and jurisdictions. The ferry services in Goa are virtually free and revenue generation is meagre. The CoP has also asked IWAI a list of declared national waterways and copy of Acts and Rules. Total expenditure incurred from declaration and development till date on each of the declared national waterways. Details and additional tax imposed after declaring national waterways and before the rivers were declared as national waterways, any Acts were in force in respect to the rivers and under which department the control was exercised.

The CoP has sought the views of the finance and legal departments to study the models it has proposed.