Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will participate in a programme marking 20 years of completion of the SWAGAT initiative in Gujarat on 27th April at 4 PM via video conferencing. During the event, Prime Minister will also interact with the past beneficiaries of the scheme. Gujarat government is celebrating SWAGAT Saptah, on successful completion of 20 years of the initiative.

SWAGAT (State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology) was started by the Prime Minister in April 2003, when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. The start of the programme was driven by his belief that the foremost responsibility of a Chief Minister is to solve the problems of the people of his State. With this resolve, along with the early realisation of the potential of technology to promote ease of living, the then CM Modi launched a first of its kind tech-based grievance redressal programme.

The main purpose of this programme was to act as a bridge between the citizens and the government using technology by solving their day-to-day grievances in a quick, efficient and time-bound manner. Over time, SWAGAT brought about a transformative impact in the lives of people and became an effective tool to solve woes in a paperless, transparent and hassle-free manner.

The uniqueness of SWAGAT is that it helps common man air his grievances directly to the Chief Minister. It is held on the fourth Thursday of every month wherein the Chief Minister interacts with citizens for grievance redressal. It  has been instrumental in bridging the gap between people and government through prompt resolution of grievances. Under the programme, it is ensured that every applicant is informed of the decision. Proceedings of all applications are available online. More than 99% of grievances submitted till date have been resolved.

The SWAGAT Online Programme has four components: the State SWAGAT, District SWAGAT, Taluka SWAGAT and Gram SWAGAT. The Chief Minister himself attends public hearings during State SWAGAT. The District Collector is in charge of District SWAGAT while the Mamlatdar and a Class-1 Officer head the Taluka SWAGAT. In Gram SWAGAT, citizens file the application from 1st to 10th of every month to the Talati/Mantri. These are included in the Taluka SWAGAT program for redressal. In addition, a Lok Fariyad program is also operational for citizens wherein they file their grievances at the SWAGAT Unit.

The SWAGAT Online Programme has been given various awards over the years, including the United Nations Public Service Award in 2010 for improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in public service.

*****

DS