Administration of inland water navigation

The Inland Vessels Bill, 2021 introduced on the floor of the Lok Sabha which seeks to bring uniformity in the application of laws relating to inland waterways and navigation within the country will eventually lead to States losing some of their powers over their rivers. Under the proposed legislation, the Central Government will hold the absolute powers of administration overall mechanically propelled inland vessels in the country while the States shall have the powers of administration only over the non-mechanically propelled inland vessels such as country boats. The bill states that no person shall construct any mechanically propelled inland vessel or alter or modify any mechanically propelled inland vessel to affect its strength, stability, or safety, except with prior approval of the designated authority, in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government. Under the proposed Act, the Inland Waterways Authority of India shall be the competent authority to exercise or discharge the powers, authority or duties conferred. This clause will have ramifications in Assam as Inland Water Transport (IWT) Directorate has over 100 ferry services on the river Brahmaputra and Barak in their tributaries. The IWT Directorate is also mandated to develop, maintain, and regulate ferry services. The bill says that no mechanically propelled inland vessel shall be used nor proceed on voyage, without a valid certificate of a survey that shall provide or indicate among others, the Zone intended for operation or applicable voyage or service of such vessel. The certificate of survey shall be valid throughout the country which will make the operation of inland vessels along inter-state rivers beyond a state boundary hassle-free. The bill seeks to empower the Central government to make rules for applicable standards for seamless and safe navigation of inland vessels; classify and categorize mechanically propelled inland vessels, standards and processes involved in registration of vessels, standards for identification and categorization of special category vessels, issuance of a certificate of registry, training and minimum manning scales, the permissible limits of discharge of certain pollutants such as sewage and to provide for the issue of prevention of pollution certificate as a compliance requirement. In respect of the State Governments, powers will be limited to declaring any inland water area into Zones depending on the maximum significant wave height criteria and implementing the provisions of the proposed legislation in compliance with the standards and measures as may be provided by rules by the Central Government in respect of mechanically propelled inland vessels. The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill explains that the existing Inland Vessels Act, 1917, inter alia, empowered the State Governments to frame rules on their own but such rules are not uniform across the country. The requirement of no objection certificate or endorsement to ply beyond the State jurisdiction, lack of uniformity of applicable norms and standards prescribed by various State Governments, lack of flexibility in its provisions, and the like, are shortfalls in the existing Act. Hence, a comprehensive review of its provisions was necessitated to overcome such shortfalls and to cope up with the present needs and foreseeing developments shortly, it adds. It points out that systematic utilization of 111 national waterways declared under the National Waterways Act, 2016 and tapping the potential of inland water transportation will lead to an increase in the usage of mechanically propelled inland vessels and this also calls for legislating new laws governing navigation of such vessels. Water being an entry in the State List respective state governments have exclusive power to legislate on matters relating to it. However, entry 56 in the Union List states that "Regulation and development of inter-State rivers and river valleys to the extent to which such regulation and development under the control of the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest". The National Waterways Act, 2016 declared that "in the public interest" the Central Government should take under its control the regulation and development of the waterways specified in the Schedule for shipping and navigation to the extent provided in the Inland Waterways Authority of India Act, 1985. Besides, the Brahmaputra and the Barak, 13 other rivers flowing through Assam have been notified as national waterways. Prior enactment of the National Waterways Act, 2016 there were only six national waterways in the country. Legal complexities over water being an entry in the State List subject to the entry concerning inter-state rivers in the Union List have allowed the scope for the Central Government to gradually exercise more control over inland waterways. The Inland Vessels Bill is also a step in that direction. The bill, if passed by the parliament into an Act, will make the loss of control of the states over inland waterways more perceptible.