THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM v. IN RE - THE STATE OF ASSAM & Anr.

Heard Mr. H. K. Das, learned Standing counsel for the Gauhati High Court and Mr. D. Saikia, learned Advocate General, Assam, assisted by Ms. M. D. Borah, learned Standing counsel, Transport Department, appearing for the respondents.

The learned Advocate General, Assam, appearing for the respondents has drawn attention of this court to the various affidavits filed on record and has submitted that the State Government has taken some positive steps. However, still Page No.# 3/15 certain steps are yet to be taken and hence this court may consider the affidavits on record and pass appropriate directions in the matter.

The respondent no. 2 filed an affidavit dated 10.01.2019, which indicates that after the incident operation of private mechanized boat between Guwahati and North Guwahati came to be suspended on 5th September, 2018 and on 7th September, 2018 the operation of all private mechanized boat were suspended in the State of Assam and the Government issued directions to all Executive Engineers in the concerned Department for safety audit of all boats/vessels. Immediately thereafter a high-level committee meeting, chaired by the then Minister of Transport, was held on

10.09.2018. In the said meeting certain important decisions were taken and it was also considered that the State Legislature passed an Act, being “Assam Inland Water Transport Regulatory Authority Act 2018” (hereinafter referred to as “2018 Act”), more particularly, to regulate the activities of the inland water transport operations in Assam. On the basis of such decisions taken, the State Government took the following steps: (i) Vessels will be resurveyed for safety audit after the installation of double engines on safety aspects. (ii) New registration certificates district-wise will be issued subject to compliance of all requirements. (iii) Indian Register of Shipping will be requested to depute their teams to certify the vessels as per norms. (iv) Special Training Camps of crew members will be organized and certificates will be issued after competency assessment. (v) A Ro-Ro service is newly introduced in between Nimati and Majuli on

11.10.2018 which can transport 8 (eight) loaded trucks or 25 (twenty- five) Light Motor Vehicle with 100 (One Hundred) passengers at a time.

The respondents has filed further affidavit on 12.09.2019 and has brought on Page No.# 4/15 record a notification, being Notification No. TWT.113/2013/49 dated 20th September,

2018. The aforesaid Notification inter alia provides for constitution a “District Monitoring Committee cum Task Force” comprising of a magistrate nominated by the concerned District Magistrate as head and officers from local police station, IWT department etc. as its members and the committee so formed was to look after the following important aspects: (i) Ensure proper vigil and monitoring of all kinds of vessels/boats in the ferry services. (ii) Observing activities of the concerned officials/operations staff of the ferry services particularly for imposing strict restriction on overloading and overcrowding in vessels. (iii) Monitoring the safety aspects of vessels and strictly enforce safety norms. (iv) Assess the fitness/suitability of the vessels operating in each district.

According to the respondents, the Director, Inland Water Transport (IWT), Assam, has already set up a control room in the Directorate office with dedicated staff, which is fully operationalizing it 24x7 hours, more particularly during the period of inclement weather for checking the weather bulletin in Indian Metrological Department website. It is also planned that special training shall be imparted to crew members and their competence shall be assessed. It is also stated that safety briefing of passengers has also be undertaken and appropriate directions have been issued for strict compliance of the provisions of the 2018 Act. The respondents have also stated that about 15 nos. of vessels have been retrofitted and 20 nos. of new vessels with all required safety norms have been ordered for procurement and 3 new vessels, namely, MB Puthimari, RPL Burahdia and RPL Baralia have been introduced at Guwahati based ferry services. The record indicates that two new notifications have been issued on

15.11.2018 and 19.03.2019 under the provisions of the 2018 Act for furtherance of the objects of the 2018 Act. Vide the notification dated 19.03.2019, the Government Page No.# 5/15 of Assam constituted a regulatory authority, namely, “The Assam Inland Water Transport Regulatory Authority” (hereinafter referred to as “regulatory authority”). An office has been set up for the said purpose at Ulubari, Guwahati, vide notification dated 06.05.2019. The State Government has also appointed the Principal Secretary, Transport Department, Assam, as the Chairman of the Regulatory Authority vide notification dated 19.03.2019 and has also appointed the Secretary and members of the Regulatory Authority vide notification dated 12.04.2019 and 24 nos. of staff have also been appointed in the Directorate of IWT. This regulatory authority, in turn, has issued instructions to concerned departments, Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police of all districts for enforcement of the provisions of the 2018 Act.

It has also been mandated that no vessel shall ply in the ferry system without valid registration certificates and such registration of vessels shall be done district-wise in order to ensure boat owners to register their boats with the IWT department. It is also stated that all vessels plying in ferry system should be certified by a member of International Association of Classification Society (IACS). The State Government has issued necessary notifications on different dates for the said purpose. By a notification dated 28.05.2019, the State Government has made the use of life jacket mandatory on all ferry ferries and boats currently plying under the ferry system. The Directorate of IWT has provided adequate number of life jackets to all vessels currently plying under the IWT department to ensure continuous enforcement of the said guidelines. The State Government has also brought on record a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in the month of March, 2019 with Indian Register of Shipping to provide technical support services for procurement of new vessels; repair, retrofitting and certification of existing vessels and wooden boats (“Bhutbhuties”) for the Assam Inland Water Transport. The State Government has also made efforts to procure 20 new state-of-the-art passenger ferry vessels under the World Bank funded Assam Inland Water Transport Project from January, 2019.

By a further affidavit filed on 28.02.2020, the respondents have contended that Page No.# 6/15 the State Government has taken various steps to prevent unauthorized plying of private mechanized boats in ferry services in inland waterways of Assam for which the authorities have issued appropriate Memos. have to the concerned officers asking them for strict compliance of the notification dated 18.09.2013. It is also averred that the regulatory authority has also asked the concerned authorities at the district level to strictly enforce the ban on the illegal operation of all non-marine single engine private mechanized Bhutbhutis vide notification dated 24.07.2019. Again, by a further notification dated 23.12.2019, appropriate directions have been issued to the concerned authorities for enforcement of the guidelines for operation of country boats as issued vide Government notification dated 01.10.2019. The Government has also formed “District Level Monitoring Committees cum Task Force” vide notification dated

20.09.2018 for enforcement of the provisions of the 2018 and the guidelines issued by the government authorities from time to time. It is also stated in the affidavit that the Transport Department has also issued another notification dated 01.10.2019 specifying guidelines prepared by the Indian Register of Shipping for safe plying of country boats in the State of Assam. It is also averred that the State Government, under the aegis of Transport Department has undertaken a project, namely, “Assam Inland Water Transport Project”, financed by the World Bank, to transform the quality of Inland Water Transport Service and to ensure safety of passengers travelling by the said mode. It is state that a society in the name of “Assam Inland Water Transport Development Society” (hereinafter referred to as the Transport Development Society”) has been formed for implementation of the said project. The Assam Inland Water Transport Project has been initiated for institutional, regulatory and safety strengthening; fleet safety improvement and modernization; improvement of terminal infrastructure and project management support.

The State Government has also formulated a scheme in the name of “Jibondinga” which, inter alia, provides for the following objectives: (i) To provide incentives to registered country boat owners/operators in Page No.# 7/15 order to enable them to provide safe, secure and sustainable ferry service. (ii) To ensure registration of mechanized boats under the Regulatory Authority which has already been set up under the Assam Inland Water Regulatory Authority Act, 2018. It is also averred that the first phase of the “Jibondinga” scheme envisages replacement of the unsafe traction equipment i.e. the agricultural water pumps or other non-standard engines by the type approved by IRS Marine Engines with reversible gear box and propulsion system so that the boats will be maneuverable and remain safe and steady while plying. Boats in the age group from 0-5 years which are expected to be in good fettle and from 5-10 years the health of which will be determined after survey by IRS, will be retrofitted with new engines, gear boxes and propeller shafts, for which four engine manufacturing firms of repute in the country have already been selected under a Framework Agreement prescribed by the World Bank, the EAP funding agency of the project.

It is further averred that for facilitating the boat owners/operators in the retrofitting exercise, a subsidy to the tune of 70% of the cost of the engine and associated equipment is being given by the Government of Assam (Additional 5% and 10% subsidy for women entrepreneurs and women self help groups respectively are also being given). Bank finance is being organized for the 30% payment to be made by the beneficiaries, if they need. Moreover, the below- mentioned additional incentives are also being provided: (i) Insurance premium for passengers and boats for initial three years. (ii) Safety gears like life buoys, life jackets and GPS. (iii) Extended warranty of the engines up to three years. (iv) Setting up of service centres with pool of spares near the ferry hubs. Page No.# 8/15 (v) Training of boat operators. It is further averred that the first phase of the “Jibondinga” scheme has been sanctioned by the Government of Assam to the tune of Rs.

101.67 Crore. This will cover 1090 boats initially and it is expected that once the scheme is underway, a sizeable number of unregistered mechanized boats will come forward for registering themselves within the one year window provided to them for obtaining benefit under the “Jibondinga” scheme. Meanwhile, stakeholder meetings have already been held at Dhubri, Guwahati, Majuli, Bohori, Fulertol (Silchar) etc. and scheme application form along with Information Education Communication (IEC) documents, information leaflets etc. have been distributed to the boat owners. According to the Government, the aforesaid scheme has the following benefits: (i) With the implementation, the suspension on plying of single engine boats would no longer be valid as all registered boats would retrofitted with the type approved engines, gearboxes and propeller shafts certified by IRS, thereby legalizing plying of these boats.

(ii) The safety standard of these boats will be elevated to a large extent and the possibility of boat mishaps will be greatly reduced. (iii) With the regulation of strict adherence to the prescribed passenger carrying capacity by the boats, passengers will feel safe and more comfortable during their journey. The newly formed Regulatory Authority will ensure that adequate control will be maintained on the river transport in the state on a larger fleet under its umbrella. It is also the stand of the Government that with the implementation of the aforesaid scheme there would be adequate enforcement of the 2018 Act and the deterrent measures taken will ensure that there will be no further plying of unauthorized private mechanized boats in Assam. Page No.# 9/15

By a further affidavit dated 07.03.022, it has been brought on record that the Transport Department in the State of Assam vide communication dated 14.09.2021 has issued two Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as per the review meeting held on 11.09.2021 and has instructed the Deputy Commissioners of all the Districts in Assam as also the Director, IWT, to take immediate action streamline the ferry services enhancing the safety mechanism in the Inland Water Transport system. As per the said SOPs, plying of private boats with single engine would remain suspended. It is also stated that the Government would provide Marine Engine with reversible gears to 850 private passenger vessels, free of cost, which have applied under the “Jibondinga” Scheme. As per the said affidavit dated 07.03.2022, it is the case of the State Government that IWT surveyor has completed survey of 558 boats in different districts of Assam in the current financial year and the Inland Water Transport Development Society has procured 391 Marine Engines with gear box and has provided the same to the private operators out of the 558 boats in phase manner.

By a further affidavit dated 28.07.2022, the State Government has contended that appropriate steps have been taken by the department concerned with regard to the safety of ferry services in the State of Assam. By a report dated 27.07.2022, the details of the steps taken by the State Government have been brought on record. Further, by an affidavit dated 20.08.2022 the State Government has brought on record the steps taken by the State Government in pursuance to the suggestions and recommendations of the One-man Enquiry Committee report dated 02.08.2022 pursuant to the order dated 27.07.2022. The State Government has stated that the number of passengers boarding a vessel is recorded in the data base of Assam IWT website after implementation of online e-ticketing system in the major ferry services at Guwahati, Dhubri and Neamati based ferry services. It is stated that online system of e-ticketing does not allow issuing more tickets beyond the passengers’ capacity of a particular vessel.

03.05.2022 has accorded approval for the incorporation of Assam Inland Waterways Company Limited, a fully owned Government of Assam Company. It is stated that the decision so taken by the State Government for creation of the aforesaid State Company will transform the Inland Water Transport sector thereby attracting new investments from private players in public-private-partnership mode for passenger vessel, cargo vessels, tourism related activities etc. It is the case of the State Government that the new company will bring autonomy to manage and operate the existing and newly created assets of Directorate of Inland Water Transport by optimizing the utilization of resources and maximizing the profitability of leveraging all the avenues of revenue. It is contended that the State Company so created will work Page No.# 12/15 as an independent public sector undertaking for the purpose of management and operations of the assets of IWT to ensure safe, secure and environmentally sustainable means of transportation for public use as well as goods and cargo.

It is also averred that a total of 10 numbers of Steel Catamaran Vessels with a load capacity of transporting 100 passengers and 50 two-wheelers have been commissioned and the said Steel Catamaran vessels are equipped with advanced equipment including control and monitoring system, communication and navigation system, GPS, eco sounder and wind measurement systems along with life saving and firefighting equipments. It is stated that another set of 10 Steel Catamaran Vessels with a capacity of 100 passengers and 6 four-wheelers is under construction and is expected to be delivered by July, 2023. Further, 3 numbers of Tugboats are under construction and is expected to be delivered by December, 2022. It is also the say of the respondents that 3 numbers of Search & Rescue (SAR) vessels are under construction and are expected to be delivered by December, 2022. It is further averred that the State Government has also accorded approval for construction of Terminal and Riverine Infrastructure at Guwahati Gateway Ghat under the aegis of the World Bank financed under the Assam Inland Water Transport Project at Rs.

289.45 Crore and a contract has been signed with L&T Geostructure on 08.06.2022 for implementation of the project in order to ensure connectivity and safety of the passengers. The respondents further state that the State Government has undertaken to set up one smaller terminal each at Umananda, Uzan Bazar, Kuruwa, Guijan, Ghagor, Kachari Ghat (Dhubri), Goalpara, Bahari, North Guwahati, Aphalamukh, Neamati, Disangmukh and Matmora for wich the prepration of the Draft Project Report is in advance state. It is also stated that the State Government is launching Night navigation Mobile App in collaboration with IIT, Madras for cross ferry service at night and foggy weather conditions. The Night Navigation app is being used for ferry services in Guwahati for the routes of Guwahati-North Guwahati, Guwahati-Rajaduar and Guwahati-Madhyam Khanda. According to the affidavit of the respondents, a Page No.# 13/15 Command Control Centre has been set up in the existing DIWT Control room and as on date 76 numbers of vessels have been integrated with GPS. It is averred that the International Maritime Organisation and the Government of Norway has launched “Green Voyage 2050”, a partnership project aiming to transform the shipping industry towards a lower carbon future and India has been selected under the Green Voyage 2050 for conducting a pilot project under the scheme, wherein Assam has been selected for piloting the project in the river Brahmaputra.

It is also stated in the affidavit that an MOU has been signed between AIWTD Society and Assam Skill Development Mission on 17.08.2022 for monitoring and coordination of Training & Capacity Building of Inland Water Transport, AIWT Regulatory Authority and AIWTD Society staff. In the affidavit it is also stated that with the e-ticketing system launched in the ferry services in Assam, a total 27,83,892 number of ferry passengers have booked tickets through the e-ticketing system resulting in a revenue collection to the tune of Rs. 3.40 Crore as on 17.08.2022.

Having considered the aforesaid facts on record and considering the steps already taken by the State Government it appears that the State Government has taken all possible measure to ensure that the provisions of the 2018 Act and the directions issued by the Regulatory Authority are adhered to in toto and in letter and spirit. Thus, over and above the steps, which are already taken by the State Government, this court is of the opinion that the State Government should also take the following further steps to improve safety of the passengers on boat, riverine vessels plying on river Brahmaputra in Assam: (i) Wherever e-ticketing system is introduced, the State authorities should make it mandatory for the boat owner to inform the passengers boarding the boat/vessel, before the start of the ferry that all have been provided with life jackets/buoys. Strict compliance of the same should be ensured before the vessel is permitted to ply and any breach thereof should be strictly dealt with in accordance with law.