Sagar Samriddhi

Latest Context

Recently, an online dredging monitoring system initiative titled ‘Sagar Samriddhi to accelerate 'Waste to Wealth' has been launched to accelerate the 'Waste to Wealth' initiative by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) under the Government of India.

 Dredging

• It is a process under which sediments and debris from the bottom of lakes, rivers, harbors, and other water bodies are removed.
• To remove debris and sediment from the bottom of lakes, and rivers becomes necessary because, over a period of time, sediment builds up and makes the waterways too shallow for boats and ships to navigate safely.
• Its objective is to maintain or increase the depth of navigation channels, berthing areas, and anchorages in order to make larger ships capable to pass through and transport goods. Dredging is very vital for the economy because through these ships a significant portion of the country's imports takes place.

Sagar Samridhi

• Concept: National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts (NTCPWC)develops this system. It is the technological arm of MoPSW. This is the improved version of the old Draft & Loading Monitor (DLM) system. Its objective is to increase productivity, and contract management, and promotes the effective reuse of dredged material. It has been designed according to the vision of Aatm-nirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India) and Make in India, to strengthen the technological capabilities of India.
• Capabilities:
• It provides a real-time dredging progress report
• It provides Daily and monthly progress reports on visualization
• It also enables the performance of Dredger and downtime monitoring
• Through it, easy location track data with snapshots of loading, unloading and idle time is possible.

Significance:

• The system enhances project implementation by minimizing human error through technology, reduces dredging costs, promotes environmental sustainability, enhances transparency, and efficiency.
• Approximately 100 million cubic meters is the annual maintenance dredging at Major Ports and Waterways, for which about Rs.1000 crores are spent each year by the Ports and Inland Waterways Authority of India.
• The dredging cost will significantly decrease and transparency and efficiency are secured by implementing the Addendum and using the 'Sagar Samriddhi' system. It enables better project planning,  facilitates the development, and reducing the operational costs of deep draft Ports

Guidelines Related to Dredging in India

• In 202, The MoPSW issued ‘Dredging Guidelines for Major Ports’ that highlighted the procedure for planning and preparation, dredged material management, technical investigations, and estimating the cost of dredging in order to enable the Major Ports to formulate the dredging projects to complete in a timely manner.
• In March 2023, the Ministry added a new clause for including a provision in the bidding documents that assist in reducing dredging costs through the concept of 'Waste to Wealth.' Furthermore, it suggests various beneficial ways to use the dredged material, like in construction projects and for environmental improvement like beach nourishment.

NTCPWC

• In April 2023, with a total investment of Rs 77 Crores at IIT Madras, it was established under the Sagarmala Programme of MoPSW.
• Its objective is to enable solutions towards achieving the ultimate goal of building a robust marine industry in the country and promoting research & development for the marine sector.
• By being a state-of-the-art centre, it has world-class capabilities for undertaking 2D & 3D investigations of research and consultation for the Port, Coastal, and Waterways sector across all disciplines.

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