The Project Oversight Committee reviews land acquisition work in Jal Marg Vikas Projects (JMVP) at its meeting held in Lucknow on March 20th

The progress of land acquisition for the Jal Marg Vikas projects in Uttar Pradesh Bihar Jharkhand and West Bengal the beneficiaries of the ambitious shipping ministry’s scheme was reviewed at the Eighth Project Oversight Committee POC meeting held at Lucknow on March 20^th

Senior officials from Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Ministry of Shipping, World Bank and Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal - the states through which National Waterway -1, i.e., river Ganga flows, participated in the meeting.

The POC meetings are held periodically to enhance coordination among all the stakeholders for implementation of JMVP on NW-1. Discussions were held and issues related to land acquisition for JMVP sub-projects in Varanasi, Ghazipur, Kalughat and Sahibganj were also discussed in the meeting.

Uttar Pradesh is one of the main stakeholder states of the Jal Marg Vikas Project, where a Rs 169.59 Crore state-of-the-art multi-modal terminal at Varanasi is being constructed. A freight village is also proposed separately at Varanasi for which acquisition of land is in advanced stage. Besides, Intermodal terminal at Ghazipur, ferry and Ro-Ro terminals at various locations are proposed in U.P.

JMVP is being implemented with technical and financial assistance of the World Bank at an estimated cost of Rs. 5,369 crore for plying of vessels with capacity of 1500-2,000 tons. Phase-I of the project covers the Haldia-Varanasi stretch which includes development of fairway, Multi-Modal Terminals, strengthening of river navigation system, conservancy works, modern River Information System (RIS), Digital Global Positioning System (DGPS), night navigation facilities, modern methods of channel marking etc.