Mr.
Deputy Chairman, Sir, this Bill is replacing one of the oldest Acts prevailing
in this country. The Indian Vessels Act was passed in 1917. Now, this Act is
more than one hundred years old. During the last Century, many things have
changed. So, it is necessary that there should be a new Act in its place.
Therefore, it is appropriate that this Government has brought this Bill. Sir, transportation
of cargo through sea is not a new thing; it is a very old thing. In the olden
days, it was mostly through sea route. Sir, I take the example of my own State,
Odisha. There was a time when Odisha was very rich in trade and traders. The
businessmen120 of Odisha used
to export textiles, food grains and so many things through ships from Odisha to
different countries. 140 (1)
They brought so much fortune to Odisha during those days. So, it is not
a new thing. Unfortunately, now our habit of transportation of cargo
through sea route or through waterways has been limited. I am astonished to
know that hardly we use this sea route for cargo transportation. I think, it is
less than one per cent of the total cargo business. Therefore, Sir, we should
give much emphasis on this because when we do cargo transportation through sea
route or waterways, we pollute less and oil consumption is also less which
is beneficial for the country. One question240 arises that when the State Government,
under the earlier Act, was authorised to frame the needful rules and control
the shipping, why everything has been centralised. I was also under this
misconception, but after going through the Bill, my mind280 is very clear. Now, under this Act also,
not many (2) things have been centralised. The State Governments will be
making their own rules and implementing them on ground. Therefore, there is
nothing wrong in the Bill. As I said, Sir, less than one per cent of the total
traffic in India is through inland waterways, though in the United States, 21
per cent is through sea route or inland waterways. Therefore, we should try, as
far as possible, to use360 our waterways because all our road
transport is congested; all our air transport is congested. Therefore, I
welcome this Bill. One or two very good provisions are there in this Bill. I
will cite only one example regarding penalty. One good provision in this Bill
is that if a vessel master abstains from rendering assistance to a nearby ship
in420 distress, under the
distress clause, he will be penalised with a fine of Rs.10,000. The provisions
in the Bill are very welcome. So, this Bill is informative. This Bill is (3)
very bold and is a game-changer to the present law, the Inland Vessels Act
of 1917.
Sir,
I rise to support the Inland Vessels Bill, 2021. The Bill replaces one480 of the oldest Acts, that is, the Inland
Vessels Act, 1917. The country has so many rivers and canals. As per the
Government records, a total of 4,000 kilometres of inland waterways have been
operationalised so far. After 72 years of independence, we are unable to
utilise inland waterways. Around 111 waterways have been declared as the
National Waterways as per the National Waterways Act. The inland water
transport in the country is a fuel-efficient and eco-friendly mode moving
around560 55 million tonnes of
cargo. However, the inland waterways transport in India is highly
under-utilized as compared to the developed countries. Particularly, I wanted
to say that this Bill is a unified law for the entire country instead of having
separate600 rules and regulations
framed by the States. But the (4) entire control is in the hands of the
Centre. There is no role for the States. I request the Government of India that
there should be some role for the States also because there are a lot of
waterways in the States. I want to make another point. The operational inland
waterways transporters are limited in Godavari and Krishna Rivers. I request
the Government of India to develop more waterways in Telangana.
Sir,
the original Indian Vessels Act empowers the State Governments to frame rules on
their own.700 Now, the
proposed legislation intends to bring uniformity in this provision in the
respective States so as to promote economic and safe720 transportation and trade through inland
waters, and, protect the interests and needs of the stakeholders. Further, the State
Governments are being entrusted with the power and responsibility to implement
the provisions of the proposed legislation in accordance with the standards and
measures as may be provided by rules by (5) the Central Government. Sir,
you want uniformity in the rules and regulations to promote trade and safe
transport in the inland waters. At the same time, the provision empowers the
Central Government to provide uniformly the applicable standards for seamless
and safe navigation of inland vessels by rules. Sir, we represent regional
parties. We are always fighting for more powers for the States. But this Bill
intends to take840 away the
powers of the State Governments. That is the only objection. I have no
objection with regard to the intention of the Bill that you want uniformity and
everything. But, if in the name of uniformity, you are taking away the powers
of the State Governments, then, our federal system will collapse. That is the
only point that I wish to make. At the same time, I have a request to make to
the hon. Minister for Shipping. In Tamil Nadu, we have the Buckingham Canal. In
British period, a lot (6) of navigation used to take place and a lot of
cargo used to be moved to many places. But at the present time, this Canal is
not being fully utilized. 960
It is polluted now. Therefore, I request the hon. Minister to please take
interest to develop this980
Canal and promote inland transportation. In order to develop trade and commerce
in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, this connectivity is very important. Once
again, I request the Minister to take action in this regard.
Sir,
This Bill will have huge implications for our State and we hope it positively
enables the Inland Waterways in our State. The Bill will regulate safety,
security and registration of inland vessels. It is also hoping to build a
central database with the registration of details of vessels and crew on an
electronic portal. With this, it aims to bring uniformity in application of law
relating to inland1080
waterways and navigation within the country. The certificate of (7) registration
granted under the proposed law will be deemed to be valid in all the States and
the Union Territories and there will be no need to1120 seek separate permission from
States. We hope that this provision has
been enacted with due regard to jurisdiction of States and in consultation with
the line Departments of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Any loss
of revenue must also be compensated for the first five years by the Central
Government to the respective States. It has expanded the definition of inland
vessels which now includes both mechanical and non-mechanical inland vessels
with an exception for fishing vessels. In the same vein,1200 it enlarges the definition of inland
waters by including tidal water limit and national waterways. Constitutionally,
Inland Waterways is a State subject but shipping and navigation on inland
waterways which are declared by the Parliament as National Waterways come under
the Union List. Additionally, mechanically propelled vessels are under the (8)
Union List, but the State reserves the right1260 to regulate all non-mechanical vessels and all taxes
on inland waterways accrued to the State. State Government under the1280 Bill will be responsible for
registering non-mechanical vessels which were earlier not included in the regulations
under the old Act. These can be enrolled at the district level. The State
Government has also been asked to appoint officers to act as surveyors of
inland vessels according to the criteria and qualifications outlined by the
Central Government. The State Government is empowered to appoint designated
authorities within their own jurisdiction. The authority would also deal with
pollution control measures of plying inland vessels and the Central Government
has to designate a list of chemicals, substances, etc. Its efforts are in the
right direction. We always support this kind of initiative. As per the new
Bill, vessels will discharge or dispose1400
sewage, (9) as per the standards specified by the Central Government.
The Central Government will notify the list of pollutants which will be
prohibited for discharge or disposal. In respect of the powers of the State
Government, it appears that it1440
is interfering with the powers of the State Government. It is a federal
structure. The powers of the State Government have also to be considered,
relooked into and necessary amendments made in the Bill to confer the powers in
respect to State Government where the respective vessels and business are going
on. The Bill also states that the State Governments are duty bound to implement
all the provisions of the Central enactments. Therefore, this is nothing but
interfering with the administration of the State Government and the federal
structure. I request the hon. Minister to consider and make necessary
amendments in (10) this Bill in this regard. 1556
