 statement of objects and reasonsin view of lack of suitable organisation and the paucity of resources with the state governments, the development of inland water transport has not made much headway there are certain advantages in this mode of transport, such as low cost of transport, energy efficiency, generation of employment among weaker sections of the community and less of pollution the various committees set up by the government for the purpose of looking into this matter recommended that the central government should declare certain waterways as national waterways and assume responsibility for their development 2 the central government have already constituted the inland waterways authority of india under the inland waterways authority of india act, 1985 (82 of 1985) for the regulation and development of inland waterways for purposes of shipping and navigation, 3, allahabad-haldia stretch of the ganga-bhagirathi-hooghly river and the sadiya-dhubri stretch of the brahmaputra river have already been declared as national waterways and the inland waterways authority of india has taken up the development maintenance and management of these waterways 4 it is now proposed to declare the kollam-kottapuram stretch of west coast canal and champakara and udyogmandal canals as the third national waterway information currently available indicates that the infrastructural facilities essentially required for safe and convenient shipping and navigation are not adequate for sustained operation by large mechanised crafts, regulation and development of kollam-kottapuram stretch of west coast canal and champakara and udyogmandal canals for purposes of shipping and navigation on the proposed national waterway under the control of the union is in the public interest and declaration to that effect has also been made in the bill, § the bill seeks to achieve the above objects new de ut; the 14th february, 1992 jagdish tytler financial memorandumthe effect of clause 3 of the bill will be to entrust the responsibility io regulate and develop the proposed national waterway for the purposes of shipping and navigation to the union, the regulation and developtment of the proposed national waterway will be carried out by the inland waterways authority of india constituted under the inland waterways authority of india act, 1985 (82 of 1985) consequently, three distinct functions, hamely, development, maintenance and management will devolve on the inland waterways authority of india the financial implications are indicated in the succeeding paragraphs 2 it has been visualised that the total originating and terminating traffic in the region is 1660 million tonnes, out of this, the estimated share of inland water transport would be 200 million tonnes, after full development of the proposed national waterway, the anticipated inland water transport traffic may be 35 million tonnes by 1994-95, this traffic is expected to be handled at 15 terminals, namely, kottapuram, ermakulam, cochin, vaikom, shartallai, vechoor, ambalapuzha, trikkum mapuzha, arattupuzha, kayamkulam chavara, ashtamudi, arookutty, allepey and kollam, 3 the development of the canals and the infrastructural facilities so as tocater''to the requirements of shipping and navigation to handle the above-mentioned traffic include development of the waterway for navigation, channel marking; construction of jetties, transit sheds, installation_of handling equipment, ete it is estimated that the expenditure with respect to the said infrastructural facilities will be of the order of rs 6200 crores this expenditure will be of a non-recurring nature, 4 in addition to the said expenditure of non-recurring expenditure, it is estimated that an expenditure of recurring nature of the order of rs, 528 crores annually will be incurred for operating the waterway and terminals, } 5 the declaration of the proposed stretch of the west coast canal and champakara and udyogmandal canals as national waterway and to provide for the regulation and development of the said canal for purposes of shipping and navigation is not expected to involve any other expenditure of recurring or non-recurring nature