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Portal to improve motor boat registration, tracking in U.P.
Uttar Pradesh is revamping motorised water vessel registration under the Inland Water Vessels Act, introducing a centralised portal and appointing marine engineers.
The state transport department is updating the process for the registration of motorised water vessels under the Inland Water Vessels Act of 2021.
Since 11 of the 111 major waterways in the country are located in the state, Uttar Pradesh is putting in place a robust system for the registration and tracking of such vessels to enhance oversight and efficiency, officials said.
As of now, the burden of registration of such vessels lies with assistant regional transport officers (ARTOs). Also, U.P. does not have a licencing authority for boats. So even after getting ARTOs’ approval, boat owners or the crew do not get a licence even though a 12-digit hull number is issue to them.
The ongoing change will shift this responsibility to the regional transport officers. Also, a centralised portal is being readied for launch in October, where boat owners can register their vessels without having to physically visit the nodal offices. Also, marine engineers will be appointed as surveyors, making the process more airtight.
After the new system is put in place, all boat owners will be required to re-register.
Meanwhile, an inland waterways authority is also being formed in the state. The top boss of the transport department will play its acting head. The scope of the new body is still being chalked out.
“While an inland waterways authority is being established, regional transport offices will be responsible for registering and tracking the operations of motorised water vessels,” said Sanjay Jha, the officer in-charge of implementing the change in Lucknow.
On the process to be followed for registration, he said the factors to determine the fitness of boats would be ascertained by experts once they were appointed. “We realise that a different set of expertise is required to inspect the fitness of water vessels. Therefore, we are roping in experts of marine engineering,” added Jha.
Regarding the waterways authority, he said, “The CEO will be the transport commissioner himself. When the new registration process is in place, the scope of the body will be expanded with technical and other experts, and a dedicated office will also be designated to us.”
Currently, the state does not have any record of the number of water vessels operating in its 11 waterways, which include the Ganga, Saryu, Betwa, Chambal and Yamuna.
According to Jha, the major benefit of a centralised portal is that it will stop any two vessels from owning one name. “While water vessels are assigned numbers, unlike road vehicles they are largely known by the names they are given,” he added.
