A novel plithogenic neutrosophic AHP approach for identifying barriers to sustainable inland water transport: a case study of India

Urban growth in developing countries like India has led to increased traffic congestion, delays, and environmental pollution, highlighting the need for sustainable transportation alternatives. Inland Water Transport (IWT) emerges as an eco-friendly mode of transportation, but its development remains constrained. The study identifies 29 significant obstacles which are ranked based on expert opinions from 15 professionals in the field of IWT, collected through online surveys, face-to-face interviews, and phone calls, and analyzed using the Plithogenic Set based Neutrosophic Analytic Hierarchy Process method. The results show that infrastructural barriers, i.e., inadequate waterways and terminals (0.0476), and economic barriers, i.e., limited private party investment in infrastructure and buying vessels (0.0439), emerge as the primary barriers. The current research provides a structured Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) framework for policymakers to eradicate key barriers by implementing various strategies. The study contributes to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG-9 (resilient infrastructure), SDG-11 (sustainable cities), and SDG-13 (climate action). The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers to prioritize actions and investments in IWT development. These recommendations can be applied not only to India but also to other regions facing similar challenges in developing sustainable inland waterway transport systems.