Swagat Satirtha 2.0 makes Assam sole state with digital mutual transfers

Guwahati, Feb 2: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched Swagat Satirtha Portal 2.0, an upgraded digital platform aimed at simplifying and institutionalising the mutual transfer process of Grade III and IV government employees, at Lok Sewa Bhawan, on Monday.

Addressing the launch programme, Chief Minister Sarma said Assam is the only state in the country to have institutionalised mutual transfers through a fully digital mechanism.

“Other than Assam, no other state has accepted or approved this process of mutual transfers. This step is helpful in many ways. Parents, family members and friends of employees frequently visit the Secretariat and Directorates to exert pressure on officials, creating space for middlemen to operate,” Sarma said.

He said the digital system has eliminated unnecessary file movement and financial burden on employees.

“If the transfer orders of over 9,000 employees had been processed physically, more than 9,000 files would have been created. Each employee would have spent at least Rs 10,000, amounting to nearly Rs 9 crore. All this has been resolved through computer technology,” he said.

Recalling the origins of the system, Sarma said he had first introduced mutual transfers during his tenure as Education Minister under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, where it proved effective due to a single appointing authority.

The Chief Minister said another round of mutual transfers would be completed before March 31, enabling employees to contribute from the beginning of the new financial year.

“I had committed that within one year we would activate the portal twice. We aim to complete another round of transfers before March 31,” he said.

Sarma clarified that employees who have already benefited from the portal once will not be eligible to apply again, while those who applied earlier but were unsuccessful would be given higher priority in the second round.

“In the next three years, my target is to remove transfer files from Assam altogether. After two years, we will issue a notification allowing no manual transfers except in extreme medical emergencies,” he said.

The Chief Minister added that the transfer process would be time-bound, mostly restricted to 15 days, and efforts would be made to complete the current round by March 7.

The upgraded portal builds on the success of Swagat Satirtha 1.0, under which 4,502 applications were approved, facilitating mutual transfers of 9,004 employees across 32 state government departments.

The Chief Minister also announced plans to introduce a new scheme allowing government employees to avail advance salary in times of need, to be recovered later either in instalments or as a lump sum.

“A similar presentation was made at Davos, and Rajasthan has already implemented such a system, where transactions worth nearly Rs 300 crore have taken place,” Sarma added.

On the issue of elections, Sarma said the government would seek exemption from the Election Commission of India to continue the process even after the Model Code of Conduct comes into force.

“This system has nothing to do with politics. It is transparent. If the Election Commission does not permit it, we will complete all preparations and carry it out after the elections,” he said.