Sneak peek into Gadkari’s river plans: Yamuna waterway, Ganga video wall

June 23, 2014

New Delhi: If you travel along the Yamuna in Delhi a few years down the line you could well find barges and cargo boats: the Ministry of Road Transport & Shipping under Nitin Gadkari is mulling the possibility of a 43-kilometer waterway from Narela to Noida, to bring life back into the river and to ease cargo traffic on Delhi’s roads.

Apart from this, the ministry is looking to enhance the waterway from Allahabad to Haldia, better cement roads in the remote villages and a waterfall on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi,which will double up as a video wall after sunset.

There are several nods required from other ministries before the projects finally hit the execution table but Mr Gadkari’s officials are quite gung-ho about the projects.

Waterways for cargo movement

For the Narela to Noida waterway, the Yamuna will be dredged, cleaned and its banks would have to undergo a massive beautification drive. Dredging drives will ensure the minimum navigable depth throughout the 43-kilometer waterway. Four barrages will be constructed on the route to maintain the water level.

This waterway would be used mainly for transport of goods. Ministry sources claim that if the plan is executed, it will reducesome of the traffic load from the capital’s roads, particularly at night when large goods trucks hit the city. This would also make the transport cheaper by around 30 percent.

The ministry is also mulling enhancement of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system from Allahabad to Haldia. This route, National Waterway 1covering 1,620 kilometers, will need further dredging for proper navigation and barrages will be constructed every 100-kilometers to maintain the water levels. This, the ministry sources say, will also help generate jobs for people residing in the cities on the banks of the route.

Cement roads to replace bitumen

The ministry also plans to replace the use of bitumen with cement in road construction as much as possible. It has a roadmap on how cement use will be more economical and durable. To produce more cement for this plan, the Road Transport & Highways Ministry will approach the Mining Ministry to use at least four mines in Gadchiroli, Chattisgarh, two each of Iron ore and limestone.

For this mining project, the government plans to start a new entity in a joint venture with private players. The new entity will possibly be named Infrastructure Corporation. Global tenders would be invited for the joint venture in which the government will control 51 percent of the equity, with the rest going to the private players.

The cement produced from mines will cost around 50 percent less than in the open market,with large amount of taxes and duties saved. Similarly, the iron ore products from these mines would cost around 40 percent cheaper than otherwise.

The government will control the produce by 50 percent and the priority of the use of the cement and iron ore products would be given to the roads built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), projects of National Highways Authority of India and the Expressways.

Cement roads last much longer than bitumen roads, which is why the ministry is keen on going ahead with this plan. To raise funds for the project, it also plans to issue infrastructure bonds, apart from taking loans from foreign banks.

Waterfall in Varanasi

For the prime minister’s constituency, there is a special package: the ministry is planning to construct an artificial waterfall on the banks of river Ganga.


The waterfall will be designed to attract tourists and will double up as a video wall after sunset on which a film will be screened, aimed at creating awareness to keep the holy river clean. A 60-minute film on the Ganga will be produced for the screening, which will focus on raising awareness among tourists to keep the river clean.

- This story was first published in www.thepoliticalindian.com on June 23, 2014