Gujarat CM directs fair, timely resolution of public grievances

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel directed district administrations for fair, transparent, and timely resolution of public grievances under the SWAGAT programme, emphasizing the need to strengthen public trust in the government.

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.

CM Addresses Specific Grievances

Agricultural Land and Record Issues

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.

Village and Urban Property Matters

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)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)