Inside The Secretariat: Policy Meets Practice

Guidelines vs Ground Reality

Despite the Chief Minister's repeated instructions that Mondays and Tuesdays should be reserved for citizens and applicants visiting the Secretariat, several senior officers remain busiest in meetings on these very two days. There has been little change in the work culture across government departments. Since these directions are not being taken seriously, applicants travelling from distant places often return without getting an opportunity to present their grievances. Despite the Chief Minister's repeated advice, meetings continue uninterrupted. The instruction was that, except under unavoidable circumstances, meetings should not be scheduled on these two days. However, in the Secretariat, the exception has effectively become the rule. A similar situation is visible in some Collector offices as well. Ultimately, applicants are left with no option but to approach the CM SWAGAT Online grievance redressal system.

Charge Changed Before the File!

Generally, additional charges assigned for the temporary management of vacant positions continue for a long period. However, at times, the government has to revise such decisions within a short span. A recent development is a case in point. As per an order issued ten days ago, the additional charge of both the Chief Executive Officer of the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) and the Relief Commissioner was entrusted to Revenue Inspection Commissioner Rajesh Manju. The government has now decided to separate these two responsibilities. Under the revised arrangement, the additional charge of Chief Executive Officer of GSDMA has been assigned to Dhaval Patel, Commissioner of Geology and Mining, while the additional charge of Relief Commissioner has been entrusted to Gaurang Makwana. This latest reshuffle has once again triggered discussions in administrative circles.

GRIT Enters Execution Mode

'Viksit Gujarat @2047' is no longer just a vision document; it has now entered the implementation phase. The roadmap prepared by S. Aparna, CEO of the Gujarat State Institution for Transformation (GRIT), outlines more than 900 action steps for 26 departments, along with KPI-based monitoring and a digital dashboard. The biggest message for the bureaucracy is that success will no longer be measured by the number of files processed or announcements made, but by tangible outcomes. However, the real test of these targets will not take place inside presentation rooms but in district offices and on the ground. Preparing a roadmap is relatively easy, but timely reviews, fixing accountability, and taking action against weak implementation will determine its credibility. The government has now tied its vision to KPIs; the bureaucracy must now tie itself to measurable results for the initiative to succeed.

Making UPSC More Affordable

It is often said that talent should never be held back due to financial constraints. With that objective, the Gujarat government has revised financial assistance for UPSC aspirants. Candidates preparing for the Preliminary Examination at the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) and other recognised coaching centres will now receive a monthly assistance of ₹4,000. In addition, male candidates will be eligible for total assistance of up to ₹1,55,000 and female candidates up to ₹2,05,000 through the Preliminary, Main Examination, and final selection stages. Earlier, candidates received ₹2,000 per month during Preliminary preparation, while the total assistance stood at ₹1,21,000 for male candidates and ₹1,81,000 for female candidates. Gujarat currently has six regional centres of SPIPA providing competitive examination coaching. However, merely increasing financial assistance does not guarantee success. Quality guidance, a competitive learning environment, and better outcomes are equally important. The focus will now be on whether the enhanced support leads to a significant rise in the number of successful UPSC candidates from Gujarat.

Justice Demands Accountability

The state government has constituted a four-member committee to review criminal cases in which accused persons have been acquitted. The committee will identify shortcomings in investigation and courtroom presentation. If negligence, weak investigation, or deficiencies in evidence collection are found, departmental action may be initiated against both the investigating police officer and the Public Prosecutor. Until now, when an accused was acquitted, accountability often disappeared somewhere within the system. The new mechanism seeks to establish individual accountability. However, this arrangement should become a means to improve the quality of investigations rather than merely a tool for punishment. Only then will public confidence in the criminal justice system become stronger. The committee includes the Director of Prosecution, the DGP (Law and Order), and two officers of Deputy Secretary rank.

The Cyber Accountability Bet

Cybercrime in the state is no longer confined to bank accounts and credit cards. The safety of women and children has increasingly become dependent on what happens on mobile screens. Keeping this challenge in mind, the Director General of Police and the Home Department have launched Operation Surakshit Cyber Space for the entire month of July. The campaign aims to cover 2.5 million citizens, 2 million students, 10,000 schools, and 1,500 colleges. One of the most significant commitments under the initiative is ensuring preliminary action within 24 hours on cyber complaints involving women and children. The success of such campaigns will not be measured by posters, pledges, or awareness programmes, but by how quickly the police respond to complaints and how rapidly they trace cyber criminals.

The Distance Between a GR & a Job

The Gujarat government has decided to grant equivalence to the B.Sc. (Honours) Natural Farming programme offered by the Gujarat Natural Farming Science University with the B.Sc. (Honours) Agriculture programme offered by other agricultural universities in the state. The decision follows an evaluation of both programmes on the basis of standards prescribed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and the recommendations of the Sixth Dean Committee, including curriculum structure, credit system, training, and eligibility. This decision is expected to open new opportunities for students in government recruitment, higher education, and career advancement. However, the real challenge now begins: will the Agriculture Department, recruitment boards, and universities implement this equivalence swiftly in recruitment rules and academic procedures? Equivalence on paper alone is not enough. The decision will be considered truly successful only when students receive equal opportunities in employment, research, and policymaking.