Earlier this month the National Waterways Bill, 2015, was introduced in Parliament by shipping minister Nitin Gadkari. Relatively less noticed amid high-profile legislations discussed during the budget session, this bill and its underlying philosophy are nevertheless worthy of attention. Creating a network of vibrant inland waterways and reimagining our great rivers as what they once were – the original expressways and freight corridors of history – is a key element to India’s emerging connectivity strategy.

For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the inland waterways thrust is particularly essential to realising the potential of the Ganga as economic capital. Those who look upon the Namami Gange project as merely a religio-cultural obsession do it a great disservice. It has significant economic implications, especially in the context of passenger and freight movement down the Ganga. It is also a test case for a multi-year, multi-waterway rejuvenation of river basins across the country.

The stretch of the Ganga from Haldia to Allahabad (1,630 km) is called National Waterway (NW 1). It travels through West Bengal, Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, among the poorest and most infrastructure-scarce regions of the country. NW 1 has the capacity to bring goods and people from the deep east to the heart of northern India. At Varanasi, it could conceivably be connected to the Eastern Freight Corridor (rail) and the Grand Trunk Road, making for an impressive logistical chain.

Yet, this is not all. NW 2 (the Brahmaputra) can be linked to NW 1 through Bangladesh. This is expected to figure in the conversation when Modi visits Dhaka in June. It carries the hope of addressing the Northeast’s access issues, and reducing its distance from northern India. Assam and the other states of the Northeast also lay great store on NW 6 (the Barak). It can flow into NW 1, and create a Barak-Ganga waterway, through the Sunderbans and the Bay of Bengal.

Equally audacious is the designing of a link between NW 5 (the Brahmani) and NW 1 using the East Coast Canal in Odisha. The canal was built by the British in the 19th century but has been damaged by decades of neglect. It is now close to completely silted. Even so, it can be redeemed. If it is made functional again, coal, iron ore and steel from Odisha can travel to far-off markets not by trucks or trains but on the river.

How will this help or be more efficient? River vessels of reasonable size can carry 1,500-1,800 tonnes of freight and replace a third of a goods trains. To be able to do so, on the Ganga at least, they need a water depth of three metres in the navigation channel. The Ganga, abused by industry and individuals over the years, suffers on this count. In the stretch from Patna to Allahabad, for example, the navigation channel reaches a depth of only about two metres. This can be addressed by dredging and, technical reports suggest, the building of two to four barrages.

This poses both opportunities and challenges that are far more complex than a mere “let’s clean the river” argument. If the dredging exercise is conducted and the barrages are built, economic activity by and down the Ganga will be accelerated. This will create jobs. Barges of 1,500 tonnes can be made from the debris of ship-breaking, an industry India specialises in. Using such re-rolled steel could give a boost to Make in India. The barges and freight vessels themselves could carry food-grains, cement, edible oil, chemicals up and down the river, saving costs for a host of industrial units – from oil mills to sugarcane processers to power plants – that populate the Ganga’s banks. This is the experience in Europe and the United States.

Nevertheless the project is not without its challenges. Barrages impede natural water flow for short stretches of the river. This raises the water level in parts and could inundate the char land that currently gets created in the summer months and is used for some agriculture. The pay-off for the users of this char land will need to be explained and politically negotiated.

That aside India has limited knowledge of state-of-the-art dredging equipment. There is also the question of what to do with the dredged material. This sandy waste, when dried, can be used for building work. One school of thought is considering giving it free to villages by the riverside, as an incentive and a gift from the munificent river – and to create a constituency for Namami Gange.

Environmentalists worry about river traffic for two major reasons: fuel emissions and possible spillage, and the impact of propeller sound on the movement and breeding patterns of river dolphins. On NW 1, the Ganga nurtures dolphins in Vikramshila (Bhagalpur) and Varanasi. Namami Gange will need to deploy technology in the form of noise attenuators and upgrade marine pollution regulations. China’s tragic experience with the dolphins of the Yangtze is a warning.

Finally, from January 1, 2015, the International Maritime Organisation has mandated the use of higher-quality, less-polluting fuel for international waters. The minimum sulphur content has been cut by 90%. These strict provisions are not applicable in domestic waters. An enlightened inland waterways policy must bridge the gap. The Ganga, and her sister rivers, deserve as much.