Name of the project: State Wide Attention on Public Grievances by Application of Technology (SWAGAT)
Department under
which the project was taken:
Chief Minister’s Office, Govt. of Gujarat
Vision
Mission
Objectives
- Analysis of the nature of grievances submitted to Government at all
levels
- Attention on the quality of
Redressal at all levels
- Monitoring the quality of grievance Redressal by local administration
Project Description:
-
On the 4th
Thursday of every month applicants arrive at the Chief Minister’s
Office in the morning. Grievances are scrutinized, registered and
instantly transmitted online to the concerned authorities at the
Secretariat level, District level and Sub-District level, whereupon
the authorities input their replies by afternoon on the same day.
From 3.00pm on the same day, the Chief Minister personally listens
to the applicants one-by-one. The grievances as well as the replies
of the concerned authorities are available through the system on a
screen. The concerned secretaries are present along with the Chief
Minister, for direct interaction with the aggrieved citizen, and
district authorities are connected through video-conferencing.
SWAGAT Session of May 2010, Chief
Minister’s Office, Gujarat
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After listening to all the aspects of the case
from all sides, necessary instructions are given for resolving the
grievance. A record is maintained in the SWAGAT database and a
separate log is maintained for each case. There is a focus on
monitoring the cases to ensure solutions are made according to
instructions given by the Chief Minister. Citizens can view the
status of their application online, using their allotted password
and login at local Government Offices and at any internet access
point.
-
Grievances are only eligible if they have
already been presented to the appropriate authorities (such as the
Sub-District Officer or the District Officer), and have not been
resolved at this level. Cases for attention of the Chief Minister
are selected as those that are long-standing, acute humanitarian
issues, difficult to resolve at other levels of Government and those
that have policy implications.
-
The positive impacts realized by the State
level SWAGAT gave drive to expand the system to 225 Sub-District
offices in 2008, for greater accessibility to the public. Thus the
geographical scope covers all of the 55 million citizens and 225
Sub-District of the State. At the District level SWAGAT session,
the district authorities hear the public grievances on the same
day. Sub-District level SWAGAT is held on every fourth Wednesday,
i.e. one day prior to District and State SWAGAT. The software
application also enables an online review of Sub-District SWAGAT,
District SWAGAT and State SWAGAT outcomes.
Advantages
-
Common citizens can access the highest authority of the state to
resolve the most challenging cases
-
Citizens have the facility to know the status of their problem from
their nearest internet access point, which will be at their own
location or at the local Government office.
-
It saves time and cost of public, previously they would have to
travel to different offices and wait a long time before their
grievances were settled.
-
SWAGAT has had an even more powerful indirect impact in encouraging
state officials to resolve grievances before they reach the SWAGAT
stage.
-
The system has
reduced the response time & cost of settling grievances: a benefit for
both Government & citizens. The direct resolution of grievances, SWAGAT
has had an even more powerful indirect impact in encouraging state
officials to resolve grievances before they reach the SWAGAT stage,
given the significant threat that the CM may become personally involved.
Status:
-
A hard focus on outcomes has driven the system
to ensure positive solutions. Attempts are made to offer a fair and
acceptable solution on the same day and no applicant has ever left
without any firm reply to his grievance along with a specific time
limit for the same. Since the Chief Minister himself has great
commitment to this program and interacts personally, there is
greater attention to resolving cases successfully.
Achievements
-
The SWAGAT system
gives satisfaction to common citizens as they get a chance to
present their case to the Chief Minister personally. Since all the
stakeholders are connected in real time, neither the aggrieved
citizen nor the concerned officer gets a chance to hide or
manipulate the facts of the case. This is the crux of the success of
the system. The fact that he is given a justified hearing gives
contentment to the common man, it also ensures high level of
accountability and transparency. Quantitatively over 98% of
applications to SWAGAT have had positive results.
SWAGAT
applications made and resolved at State, District and Sub-District level
from
April 2003 to November 2010
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