Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

2010 Category 1: India
United Nations Public Service Award 2010 – SWAGAT
Video conferencing with
District & Sub District
Case Information
on Screen
Applicant
Hon Chief
Minister
Secretariat Level
Senior Officer
Senior Officers
and SWAGAT
Administration Team
SWAGAT Session of May 2010, Chief Minister’s Office, Gujarat
After listening to all aspects of the case from all sides, the Chief Minister gives instructions
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 that the Chief Minister’s instructions are followed. Citizens can
view the status of their application online, using their assigned password to log in at
local government offices or at any Internet access point. The software application
also enables an online review of SWAGAT outcomes. Only when a grievance has
been solved can the matter be closed. The system allows for automatic review of
pending cases, so cases do not linger unresolved.
The success of SWAGAT at the state and district level led to the expansion of the
system to 225 sub-district offices in 2008, for greater accessibility to the public. Thus
the geographical scope now covers all of the 55 million citizens and 225 sub-districts
of Gujarat. The district-level SWAGAT sessions, like the state-level ones, are held on
the fourth Thursday of every month. Sub-district SWAGAT sessions take place the
day before (on the preceding Wednesday).
Grievances are eligible to be heard at the state level only if they have already been
presented to the appropriate lower-level authorities (such as the sub-district officer or
the district officer) and have not been resolved. Cases selected for the attention of the
Chief Minister are those that involve long-standing, acute humanitarian issues, those
that are difficult to resolve at other levels of government and those that have policy
implications. Most grievances, however, are resolved effectively at the local level.
The SWAGAT system gives satisfaction to citizens as they get a chance to personally
present their case, taking it all the way to the Chief Minister if necessary. Since all
the stakeholders are connected in real time during the SWAGAT session, neither the
69