Gujarat: Governance, Public Services and e-Governance · GPSC (Gujarat)

The English syllabus names the "Public Service Act"; the Gujarati version names Gujarat's Act on citizens' right to public services (ગુજરાત જાહેર સેવાઓ અંગેનો નાગરિકોનો અધિકાર અધિનિયમ). The Commission says the English version is final where the syllabus needs interpretation. This page gathers the Gujarat side of the governance part of the paper.

What the official syllabus says

GPSC Main Examination, Paper V: General Studies-II, (B) Governance and Social Justice:
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial authorities.
Good governance and e-governance: challenges and opportunities of e-governance; Transparency, accountability and responsiveness in governance; Citizen's Charter. RTI, Public Service Act and their implications, Concept of Social Audit and its importance.

Topics in detail

Right to public services in Gujarat

Gujarat's Act on citizens' right to public services: notified services, time limits for each service, designated officers
Appeals to higher officers when a service is refused or delayed; penalties on the officer at fault
Services commonly covered by such laws: certificates (income, caste, domicile), ration cards, land record extracts, licences, utility connections
Implications: time-bound delivery, accountability, less discretion; issues of awareness and enforcement

Grievance redressal

SWAGAT (State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology), started in 2003: the Chief Minister and officers hear grievances online with districts and talukas
District and taluka level grievance hearings linked to SWAGAT
Gujarat Lokayukta (Gujarat Lokayukta Aayog Act, 2013)
Gujarat Vigilance Commission and the Anti-Corruption Bureau
Gujarat Information Commission under the Right to Information Act, 2005

e-Governance in Gujarat

Gujarat State Wide Area Network (GSWAN): connectivity among State offices
e-Dhara: computerised land records and mutation
e-Gram (e-Gram Vishwagram): connectivity and services at gram panchayats
Digital Gujarat portal: online applications for certificates and scholarships
Jan Seva Kendras (citizen service centres) at district and taluka offices
Online revenue applications (iORA)
Challenges: digital divide in rural and tribal areas, digital literacy, data security

Statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies of Gujarat

Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission
Gujarat Real Estate Regulatory Authority (under the RERA Act, 2016)
Gujarat Pollution Control Board
Gujarat State Human Rights Commission
Gujarat State Commission for Women
Gujarat State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and district commissions
Gujarat Revenue Tribunal
Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (Gujarat State Disaster Management Act, 2003, passed after the 2001 Kutch earthquake)
Gujarat Maritime Board (ports other than major ports)
Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (Gujarat Infrastructure Development Act, 1999, on private participation in infrastructure)

Transparency and social audit in Gujarat

Proactive disclosure by State departments under Section 4 of the RTI Act
Social audit of MGNREGA works in Gujarat by the State social audit unit and the Gram Sabha
Citizen's charters of State departments and local bodies

Civil services of Gujarat

Gujarat Administrative Service, Class-1 and Gujarat Civil Service, Class-1 and Class-2, recruited by the Gujarat Public Service Commission
Training at the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA), Ahmedabad
Role of the Collector, Mamlatdar, District Development Officer and Taluka Development Officer in service delivery

Overlaps

The general topics are on Good Governance, e-Governance, RTI, Citizen's Charter and Social Audit and Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-Judicial Authorities. Disaster management in Gujarat is in General Studies-III.