Gujarat CM Patel directs administration to ensure timely, fair redressal under State SWAGAT
Gandhinagar, May 30
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has directed district administrations to ensure that representations received under the State SWAGAT programme are resolved within the stipulated time frame fairly and transparently so as to further strengthen public trust in the government, the release said.
In this context, CM Patel stated that if any applicant's work is eligible to be carried out as per the rules, it should be completed immediately. Furthermore, if the work cannot be undertaken under the prevailing rules, the concerned individual should be informed promptly and clearly instead of being made to repeatedly visit government offices.
The Chief Minister heard the representations submitted in person by citizens during the May 2026 state-level SWAGAT Online Public Grievance Redressal Programme with a sensitive approach. Usually held on the fourth Thursday of every month, the State SWAGAT programme was conducted on Saturday this time, as the fourth Thursday of May was a public holiday.
In this state, SWAGAT, more than 215 applicants were present with their representations at the Public Relations Unit of the Chief Minister's Office. A total of 4,020 representations from applicants, including 1,531 from District SWAGAT and 2,274 from Taluka SWAGAT, were forwarded to the respective departments for necessary action.
According to the Gujarat Chief Minister's Office (CMO) release, during the State SWAGAT programme, farmers from Junagadh, Bhavnagar and Gir Somnath districts submitted representations before the Chief Minister regarding illegal and unauthorised encroachments on access roads leading to their agricultural fields.
Responding to the representation of the farmers, the Chief Minister instructed the concerned district administrations to ensure that such encroachments on public roads do not occur and that roads remain open so farmers can conveniently transport their agricultural equipment and produce.
CM Patel also directed the police administration to take strict action against anti-social elements responsible for encroachments on public roads and ensure that farmers feel secure.
In a matter concerning the entry of inheritance rights during the lifetime of a landholder and certification of mutation records in an agricultural landholding belonging to an applicant from the Botad district, the Chief Minister instructed the district administration to adopt a citizen-centric approach and take appropriate action so that the applicant would not have to bear the burden of stamp duty arising from an earlier administrative error.
Regarding a representation submitted by farmers from the Ahmedabad district stating that their 7/12 land records had become inaccessible following a re-survey, the Chief Minister instructed the District Collector to take immediate action and also ensure necessary corrections in the re-survey records where errors had occurred. It was stated that an order had already been issued for generating the land record extract. The Chief Minister further emphasised that such minor issues should be resolved swiftly at the local level and directed all district officials accordingly.
When an applicant from the Vadodara district raised an issue regarding a certified copy and measurement of a village-site property, the Chief Minister stated that if government records were unavailable but the applicant possessed a certified copy, appropriate verification should be carried out and the document should be accepted as valid for further action in accordance with rules. He issued necessary instructions to the District Collector in this regard.
Following a representation from a village in the Aravalli district that had been included within a municipal area, where delays in granting residential construction permissions were occurring due to the non-approval of a development plan, the Chief Minister instructed the municipality to complete the necessary procedures and immediately initiate the process for issuing building permission approvals.
Through his sensitive and citizen-centric approach towards all representations received during the State SWAGAT programme, Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel demonstrated a commitment to prompt grievance resolution and reinforced the spirit of pro-people governance.
This meeting was attended by Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Sanjeev Kumar, Additional Principal Secretary Vikrant Pandey, Secretary Ajay Kumar, Officers on Special Duty Dhiraj Parekh and Rakesh Vyas, along with senior secretaries of the concerned departments.
District Collectors and administrative officers concerned with the representations joined through video conferencing and provided supplementary details and information regarding the matters presented before the Chief Minister.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Impressive that the CM personally hears cases every month. In many states, such programmes are just photo-ops, but this seems to have real follow-up. The stamp duty waiver instruction shows genuine concern for citizens' problems caused by administrative errors. More states should adopt similar systems.
Good initiative but I've seen these things before. The real test is whether the taluka and district level SWAGAT actually resolves issues without citizens having to escalate to the CM. My cousin had to approach state SWAGAT thrice for the same land mutation issue. Need better accountability at lower levels.
The farmer's issues about land records and encroachments are very relatable! In our area, re-survey errors have created chaos for years. CM's directive to correct records at local level is sensible. Hope district collectors follow through promptly instead of creating new problems. 👏
This is how transparent governance should work - giving people direct access to decision-makers. The instruction to inform citizens clearly if something cannot be done under rules will save countless wasted trips to government offices. Also glad to see police action being ordered against encroachers.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.