Photo Credits: RIVERS
----------------------------------------------------
ALL EYES ON SEAL-DEAL
* The pact is to be sealed between the Governments of Goa, India and Mormugao Port Trust as a logistic partner
* Goa will decide on river developments while central government will call the shots on finance and planning
* Stake holders will sign the MoU only after the provisions of the draft is agreed upon by the two governments
------------------------------------------------------
ALIKE NATIONAL HIGHWAYS!
Says Captain of Ports James Braganza ...
* One way to loosely define it would be to compare it to national highways which are developed and maintained by the central government funds but are used by all
* There is a fear that we will lose control over who uses the waterways, but all of this is not true. The Captain of Ports department will retain all this
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even as opposition to the “nationalisation” of Goa’s rivers gathers steam, clarity on what exactly nationalisation would mean for Goa’s rivers will emerge only after details of the final Memorandum of Understanding are known. The central government has already floated a tender for the dredging of the Rivers of Mandovi and Zuari and building of terminals as part of developing them as national waterways.
Speaking to The Goan, Captain of Ports James Braganza said that while the rivers have already been notified the exact terms and distribution of responsibilities would be known only after the three-party agreement is sealed with the Government of Goa, the Government of India and the Mormugao Port Trust as a logistic partner.
“We will decide what development is to come in these rivers. The finance and the planning will be done by the central government,” Braganza said.
He said that the first draft would be sent to the government which would then be sent to the central government and after agreeing on the provisions would the MoU be finally signed.
As part of the plans terminals will come up at Betim, Britona, Aldona, Corjuem, Pomburpa, Durbhat, Old Goa, Panaji, Ribandar, Chorao on the Mandovi River and will be part of ferry routes between Aldona and Panjai; Cortalim, Durbhat and Panaji and Baina to Dona Paula and Panaji.
Dredging work to maintain a draught of 2.5 metres is expected to commence.
The Central government has already notified six rivers of Goa as national waterways. Mandovi river (NW-68), Zuari river (NW-111), Chapora river (NW-25), Cumbharjua canal (NW-27), Mapusa river (NW-71), and Sal river (NW-88) have been notified.
According to a recent MoU between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and MPT will jointly work to achieve fairway development of the 182-Km stretch in Goa which includes dredging, river training works, bank protection, navigation aids, Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) etc. MPT will also provide project management supervision services related to the infrastructure works in the national waterways.
