New Delhi Aug 6 (IANS) The central government on Monday launched an online management system to expedite land acquisition and the bidding process for road construction.
The Bidder Information Management System (BIMS) was launched by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari who also announced institution of Annual Awards for Excellence in National Highways Projects which would be given from this year.
"The Bidder Information Management System is aimed at streamlining the process of pre-qualification of bidders... for national highway works with enhanced transparency and objectivity " an official statement said.
The portal will work as a database of information about bidders covering basic details civil works experience cash accruals and network and annual turnover.
"The pre-qualification of bidders can be assessed from data already stored in the portal so that technical evaluation can be carried out much faster " the government said.
"BIMS will be used by all the project implementation agencies of the ministry for maintenance of technical information of civil works of contractors concessionaires and for online technical evaluation of civil works bids " it added.
Gadkari also unveiled Bhoomi Rashi portal which comprises the entire revenue data of the country right down to 6.4 lakh villages.
"The entire process flow -- from submission of draft notification by the state government to its approval -- is online. Integration of Public Financial Management System (PFMS) with Bhoomi Rashi is one of the key functionalities to facilitate payment related to compensation for land acquisition to all the beneficiaries directly through the Bhoomi Rashi system " the Ministry said.
Speaking at an event Gadkari expressed confidence that the new initiatives will help expedite the work of award and construction of highways projects significantly. He said the focus of his ministry is to reduce construction costs while enhancing quality.

--IANS vv/anp/sed