Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has sanctioned ₹99.50 lakh to upgrade a metal road in Bhatela village of Vijaynagar taluka, Sabarkantha district, into a paved asphalt road — a decision triggered directly by a grievance filed during the August 2026 State SWAGAT programme. The work is to be completed within three months, the state government said.

The Grievance That Set It in Motion

The petition was raised by Tusharbhai, a resident of Navagam Dhanela, a tribal village in Sabarkantha. During the August 2026 session of the State SWAGAT programme, he sought completion of the existing road and its conversion into an asphalt-surfaced carriageway. Chief Minister Patel, who personally presides over the programme every fourth Thursday of the month, heard the grievance and immediately sought a status report from the Roads and Buildings Department and the Sabarkantha district administration.

How the Funding Was Approved

Following the directions issued at the August session, Patel granted the required financial sanction to the Roads and Buildings Department, releasing ₹99.50 lakh under the emergency tender road provision. The state government confirmed that the approval came as a direct consequence of the directions issued during the SWAGAT hearing, and authorities have been instructed to complete the work within three months.

What SWAGAT Is and How It Works

SWAGAT — an acronym for State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology — is an online public grievance redressal platform originally launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat's Chief Minister. The programme enables citizens to directly flag concerns related to government departments and district administrations, bypassing conventional bureaucratic channels.

Notably, the platform has been in operation for over two decades and is widely cited as a model for technology-enabled governance at the state level. The Bhatela road case is among the latest grievances resolved through the mechanism.

Government's Position

The state government said the fund sanction reflected the work culture of 'Je Kehvu Te Karvu' — doing what has been said — a principle it attributed to Prime Minister Modi's approach to public grievance redressal. Officials said the decision underscored the administration's commitment to ensuring that grievances raised through SWAGAT translate into on-ground outcomes rather than remaining on paper.

With the three-month deadline now in place, the Roads and Buildings Department is expected to float the emergency tender shortly. The Bhatela village upgrade will be closely watched as a test of how swiftly state machinery can execute on SWAGAT-mandated directives.