The rural development ministry will soon rank states on their ability to quickly acquire land for infrastructural development, a move it hopes will reduce delay in project implementation and cost-overrun.

The rural development ministry, on Thursday, launched the MIS portal or the Vikas Portal for rankings of states and union territories in land acquisition projects under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

“Delay in completion of projects increases the project cost and hampers the speed of development. With the Vikas portal, it will be easier to monitor the progress of the developmental projects,” rural development minister Giriraj Singh said.

“This will give impetus to the government’s Gati Shakti Mission and speed of the projects will increase,” he added.

The portal, developed by the department of land resources, land acquisition under RFCTLARR Act, 2013 from January 1, 2014 onwards will be covered for ranking purposes and this will be a continuous process. Delay in implementation of projects will fetch negative marking for states and UTs.

The entire ranking process is on auto mode and there will be no interference of the department in the ranking process. The portal will work as a comprehensive database for the various departments.