eChhawani

Introduction

Directorate General Defence Estates (DGDE), Ministry of Defence provides advisory inputs on all Cantonments and Land matters to the Ministry of Defence and Service Headquarters i.e. Army, Navy, Air force and other organizations under Ministry of Defence. It ensures implementation of Cantonments Act 2006, Policies, Rules & Regulations and Executive instructions. There are 61 Cantonment Boards spread across India which are local bodies providing civic administration and implementing the Central Govt schemes for the residents of cantonments. The objective of the DGDE is to make Cantonments as model townships which offer a wholesome environment and urban living to its residents and to maximize satisfaction of the public that comes in contact with it. 61 Cantonments located in 19 states provide citizen services to more than 20 lakh citizens.

Background

Prior to implementation of eChhawani Project, residents of the Cantonment Boards were mostly required to visit the Cantonment office for availing services. Some of the Cantonments were providing some basic services online to their residents which were not standardized. The residents were required to deposit the fee for services physically by visiting office. The process for delivery of services were not standardized across Cantonment Boards. Further, the process of seeking services by citizens involved submission of multiple forms and touch points.

It was recognized that the service delivery mechanism being followed by the Cantonment Boards needed major overhaul as the stakeholder requirements from standpoint of citizens and businesses were not being met. With development of ICT, there was a recognized need for system and process improvements which were being demanded by the stakeholders.

eChhawani Project

The eChhawani Project is conceptualized to provide 100% online service delivery, standardization of various forms and processes, transparency and accountability in functioning of cantonments, quality human resource to effectively deal with changing service delivery mechanism.

The Hon’ble Raksha Mantri launched eChhawani portal and mobile app on February 16, 2021. Hon’ble Raksha Mantri also unveiled GIS based automatic water supply system (SWAJAL) on December 16, 2021. The eChhawani Project – an integrated IT system across Cantonments implemented to facilitate and improve the quality of not only front-facing services but also back-end administrative procedures. The eChhawani is using open-source technologies and multi-tenancy architecture which increases flexibility, maintainability and scalability.

Objective of eChhawani

The eChhawani project aims to provide:

• To provide citizen centric standardised municipal services to people living in Cantonments.
• To enable the Cantonment residents to access civic services anytime, anywhere.
• To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the service delivery system by moving from paper based transactions to paperless services.
• Ease of living for the residents of the Cantonments
• Easy to access, time bound, and standardised delivery of civic services across all Cantonments in the country
• Simplifying and standardizing decision making processes
• No physical touch points – Obviating the need for citizens to visit Cantonment Board offices for accessing civic services
• Transforming work culture by use of ICT and process re-engineering

Major Services under eChhawani

1. Information portal – CB Website
2. Trade Licence
3. Public Grievances Redressal
4. Miscellaneous Collection
5. Lease renewal/Extension
6. Birth and death certificates download
7. Online OPD registration
8. GIS based Water Connection (SWAJAL) and Sewerage connection
9. Online Property Tax payment facility
10. Booking of community hall and water tanker
11. Online Building Plan Approval System
12. Mutation of names in Property Tax records
13. Rent collection module
14. Mobile toilet locator facility

Benefits of eChhawani Project

The major transformation, benefits and achievements brought out by eChhawani project include:

1. Single window – eChhawani acts as a single window for availing services offered by Cantonment Boards making it a one-stop destination for residents and businesses.
2. 100% online service delivery for all services by cantonment boards
3. Standardization of processes and forms across all 61 cantonment boards
4. Performance smart board – capturing performances of various CB’s ensures accountability
5. Reduction in time for approvals with defined timelines for according approvals – service delivery made swifter.
6. Public outreach maximization – eChhawani portal is accessible in 8 languages – Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali, and English
7. Ease of accessibility for elder/senior citizens – mobile service desk and door-to-door services for elderly / senior citizens
8. Ease of living and Ease of doing business – Convenience of availing services 24×7 from the comfort of home.
9. Reduction in time for approvals with defined timelines for according approvals – service delivery made swifter.
10. Enhanced transparency and effective administration in the functioning of CBs.
11. Monitoring and accountability ensured with performance smartboard capturing performances of various cantonments.

Fully automated services without interventions of Cantonment officials:

1. GIS based Water Connection (SWAJAL) – Geographical Information Systems based automatic water supply system is first of its kind in the country to automate the granting of water connection to the residents of cantonments. This system is based on the concept of ‘minimum government and maximum governance’, is having no manual intervention in the process of sanction of water connection to the applicants. The user-friendly and is completely automated process allows citizens to identify the location of water supply connection on cantonment map. The system automatically determines the nearest water pipeline and checks the feasibility of providing connection from water pipeline. The distance and the total amount payable are determined by the system based on the location of the household. The applicant can make instant payment of water connection charges by using linked payment gateway. This system automatically generates water connection sanction letter which can be downloaded by the applicant thereby providing seamless end-to-end delivery of service without human intervention.
2. GIS Based Sewerage connection – This module is also based on GIS technology which aims to provide the sewerage connection to the residents of Cantonment without manual intervention. Same procedure is followed as in SWAJAL-GIS Based Water Connection module.
3. Community Hall Booking – Automated community hall booking is an online system under eChhawani portal. The system facilitates residents of cantonments to book community hall online without any physical application and intervention of cantonment officials. Elimination of official intervention ensures that Community Hall is booked on ‘first come first serve’ basis by residents themselves by avoiding any delays or discretions.
4. Auto-renewal of Trade Licence – The system facilitates applicant to apply for renewal of trade licence. The elimination of physical inspection and intervention of cantonment officials ensures for renewal of trade licence without any delay.

The eChhawani project is receiving good response from citizens of cantonment boards which is reflected from achievement of 100% household’s registration on eChhawani Portal. With services being 100% online, it is easier for residents to apply, track and manage their request making the process transparent and efficient. The removal of physical touch points has obviated the need for citizens to visit Cantonment Board offices for obtaining civic services. Further, well-defined timelines for providing services by cantonment boards have ensured accountability of cantonment officials, enhanced transparency and has increased citizen’s satisfaction.

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Visit : https://eChhawani.gov.in