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Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi addresses programme marking 20 years of SWAGAT Initiative

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Governance
Initiative
SWAGAT
Technology

“The SWAGAT initiative in Gujarat demonstrates how technology can be efficiently used to resolve people’s grievances”: PM

“SWAGAT promotes Ease of Living and Reach of Governance”

“For me, the biggest reward is that we could serve the people of Gujarat through SWAGAT”

“SWAGAT became an inspirational tool to provide solutions to public grievances. Many states are working on this type of model”

“PRAGATI has played a big role in India’s development in the last 9 years. This concept is also based on SWAGAT”

“Planning for the future and using technology for public welfare in novel ways is Hon’ble PM’s uniqueness”: Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel

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Gandhinagar, Thursday: Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed a programme marking 20 years of completion of the State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology – SWAGAT Initiative via video conferencing today. The Gujarat government is celebrating SWAGAT Saptah on successfully completion of 20 years of SWAGAT.

During the event, the Prime Minister also interacted with the past beneficiaries of the scheme.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that the objective behind SWAGAT has been successfully achieved where citizens not only find solutions to their problems but also raise issues of the community. “The approach of the government should be friendly so that citizens can easily share their issues with them”, the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister remarked that the SWAGAT initiative is completing 20 years of its formation and recalled his past experiences upon interacting with the beneficiaries. He said that it is the effort and dedication of the citizens that make SWAGAT initiative a grand success and congratulated everyone who has contributed in this direction.

The Prime Minister said that the destiny of any scheme is determined by the intention and vision of that scheme when it is conceived. The Prime Minister said that the idea behind SWAGAT was to welcome the views of the common citizens in democratic institutions, be it in legislation or solutions. “SWAGAT promotes Ease of Living and Reach of Governance”, the Prime Minister said.

He underlined that the good governance model of Gujarat has found its own identity in the world due to the efforts made by the government. The Prime Minister mentioned the International Telecom Organisation which presented the prime example of good governance by SWAGAT as e-transparency and e-accountability. He also mentioned that SWAGAT drew a lot of praise from the United Nations and was also conferred the prestigious award for Public Service. The Prime Minister pointed out that Gujarat received the gold award from the Government of India for e-governance owing to SWAGAT in 2011.

“For me, the biggest reward is that we could serve the people of Gujarat through SWAGAT”, the Prime Minister said. In SWAGAT we prepared a practical system. The first system of public hearings under SWAGAT were created at the block and tehsil levels. After that District Magistrate was made responsible at the district level. And at the state level, the Prime Minister informed that he took the responsibility on his own shoulders. This, he said, helped him a great deal to understand the impact and reach of the initiatives and schemes and the relations between implementing agencies and beneficiaries. SWAGAT empowered citizens and gained credibility.

“An in-depth analysis was carried out where policies were also amended if needed”, Shri Modi continued, “this created a sense of trust amongst the common citizens”. He remarked that the measure of good governance in society is dependent on the quality of the public grievance redressal system and this is the true test of democracy.

The Prime Minister said that SWAGAT changed the old notion of following the established trails in government. “We proved that governance is not limited to old rules and laws but governance takes place due to innovations and new ideas”, he added. Shri Modi recalled that in 2003, e-governance was not a priority. Paper trails and physical files led to a lot of delays and harassment video conferencing was mostly unknown. “Under these circumstances, Gujarat worked on futuristic ideas. And today, a system like SWAGAT has become the inspirational tool for many solutions to governance. Many states are working on this type of system. At the Center, we have also made a system called PRAGATI to review the working of the government. PRAGATI has played a big role in the rapid development of the country in the last 9 years. This concept is also based on the idea of SWAGAT.” The Prime Minister informed that he has reviewed projects worth about ₹16 lakh crores through PRAGATI and many projects have accelerated due to this.

Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel said, “SWAGAT is the finest way to serve the people. “Planning for the future and using technology for public welfare in novel ways is Hon’ble PM’s uniqueness.” He went on to add that it is impossible for a government to provide effective and time bound results without a dedicated grievance redressal system. The SWAGAT Initiative has brought a positive change in the lives of people.

More than 43,000 applications were received during the SWAGAT Saptah at the State, District, Taluka and Village level. Out of this, over 90% i.e more than 40,500 applicants were successfully solved.

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

Source: Information Department, Gujarat