Gujarat Launches Atal Good Governance Awards

GANDHINAGAR : Gujarat government officials delivering outstanding public services will now have a formal incentive to go beyond routine administration, with the state government announcing the **Atal Good Governance Award** for high-performing officers across seven key citizen-facing departments.

The scheme, being implemented from the 2025-26 financial year, will recognise officials for excellence in work, citizen-centric administration and contributions to good governance. The General Administration Department has laid down an annual evaluation process covering the period from April 1 to March 31.

Under the scheme, Class-1 officers will receive ₹31,000, while *lass-2 officers will receive ₹21,000, along with a Certificate of Excellence.

“The objective is to recognise outstanding work in public administration and encourage officials to strengthen citizen-centric governance,” the government said in its resolution.

Seven Departments Covered

The scheme covers officials working directly with citizens at district and taluka levels in seven departments: Health and Family Welfare, Education, Roads and Buildings, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities, Panchayat, Rural Housing and Rural Development, and Revenue.

Eligible posts include Chief District Health Officers, District Education Officers, District Primary Education Officers, Executive Engineers, District Supply Officers, District Sports Officers, Taluka Development Officers and Mamlatdars.

The award initiative forms part of Gujarat’s broader good-governance measures launched around the centenary birth anniversary celebrations of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Performance-Based Selection

Officials will not be selected solely on routine performance. Each department will establish evaluation criteria and committees to assess measurable and outstanding contributions.

For senior departmental cadres, committees headed by the concerned department’s Secretary will evaluate officers. The panels will include senior departmental officials.

At the district level, TDOs and Mamlatdars will be assessed through committees headed by the District Collector, with the District Development Officer, District Superintendent of Police and Resident Deputy Collector as members.

The evaluation process must be completed by November 30 every year. Details of selected officers, certificates and cheques must subsequently be submitted to the General Administration Department by December 10.

Awards On Good Governance Day

Winning officers will be ranked from first to third and honoured during the Good Governance Day programme on December 25, Vajpayee’s birth anniversary.

The government said the scheme is intended to create an institutional mechanism for identifying and rewarding excellence in departments that directly affect citizens’ daily lives.

The awards will therefore link administrative performance with formal recognition, certificates and financial incentives, while encouraging officials to focus on service delivery and citizen-centric governance.