The first meeting of the National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC) held on today 5th October, 2015 in New Delhi. The meeting will be chaired by Union Minister of Shippinransg and Road Tport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari. The members of the NSAC include Vice Chairman NITI Aayog, Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, Union Cabinet Ministers of Finance; Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation; Urban Development; Railways; Agriculture; Rural Development; Civil Aviation; Skill Development & Entrepreneurship; Environment, Forests & Climate Change; Commerce and Industry; Tourism. Secretary, Shipping is Member Convener.
The broad agenda of meeting includes discussions on constitution and scope of NSAC, Concept of Sagarmala and decisions of Government of India relating to Sagarmala, action taken on setting up of Sagarmala Institutional Mechanism, engagement with Maritime States & Line Ministries, progress on the elements of Sagarmala Programme, identification and implementation of projects, critical role of State Governments in project identification & implementation, role of Ministries in project identification & implementation.
The prime objective of the Sagarmala project is to promote port-led direct and indirect development and to provide infrastructure to transport goods to and from ports quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. The project aims at (i) Supporting and enabling Port-led Development through appropriate policy and institutional interventions and providing for an institutional framework for ensuring inter-agency and Ministries/Departments/States’ collaboration for integrated development, (ii) Port Infrastructure Enhancement, including modernization and setting up of new ports, and (iii) Efficient Evacuation to and from hinterland.