Rajnath launches portal to provide municipal services online to residents of cantonment boards

New Delhi, Feb 16: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday launched an e-Chhawani portal that will provide municipal services online to residents of 62 cantonment boards across the country.

At the launch event, Singh said, "With the help of this portal, the people would be able to get government documents made such as trade license and apply for services such as water connectivity."

Public services such as health, sanitation, primary education etc. in a defence cantonment area are provided by the cantonment board concerned, which is a civic administration body under the Ministry of Defence.

The minister said, "I know very well that the people living in cantonment board have to face a number of problems...You can sit at home and get your complaints registered and resolved with the help of this portal." The truth is that our government wants to make the entire system citizen-friendly, he mentioned.

Around 20 lakh people reside in 62 cantonment boards across India. "We have started this portal so that people do not have to visit government offices again and again or stand in a line to resolve their problems," the minister said.

The portal is not a solution to all the problems but it is an effective and important step towards good governance, he noted. The minister also suggested to the officials of the Cantonment boards that they must take people's feedback on how well the portal is doing its job in resolving their problems.

"Our government is trying its best for the country's socio-economic development. The government is also trying to improve the governance structure that has been existing till now. Our prime minister has also said - minimum government, maximum governance," he said.