Guwahati : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday launched Swagat Satirtha Portal 2.0, an upgraded digital platform designed to institutionalise and streamline mutual transfers of Grade III and IV state government employees, making Assam the only state in the country to implement such transfers entirely through a digital mechanism.

The portal was launched at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati.

Addressing the programme, Sarma said no other state has formally accepted or approved a fully digital system for mutual transfers. He said the initiative would curb undue pressure on officials and eliminate the role of middlemen.

“Parents, family members and friends of employees often visit the Secretariat and Directorates to exert pressure, which creates space for intermediaries. This digital system addresses that problem,” the Chief Minister said.

Sarma said the platform has significantly reduced bureaucratic delays and financial burden on employees. He noted that had over 9,000 transfer orders been processed manually, an equal number of physical files would have been created, with employees spending at least Rs 10,000 each, amounting to nearly Rs 9 crore.

“All of this has been resolved through computer technology,” he said.

Recalling the origins of the policy, Sarma said he first introduced the concept of mutual transfers during his tenure as Education Minister under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, where a single appointing authority made the process effective.

The Chief Minister said another round of mutual transfers would be completed before March 31, allowing employees to contribute from the beginning of the next financial year. He added that the current round would be time-bound, largely restricted to 15 days, with efforts to complete it by March 7.

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

“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.

Swagat Satirtha 2.0 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 enabling government employees to avail advance salary in times of need, recoverable either in instalments or as a lump sum. He cited a similar system implemented in Rajasthan, where transactions worth nearly Rs 300 crore have taken place.

On the possibility of elections and the Model Code of Conduct coming into force, Sarma said the government would seek exemption from the Election Commission of India to continue the process.

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