Assam launches portal to digitise mutual transfers for Grade III, IV staff

Guwahati: The state govt on Monday unveiled the Swagat Satirtha 2.0 portal to streamline and modernise the mutual transfer system for Grade III and Grade IV govt employees.

Launching the portal, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said the revamped system would allow employees to submit mutual transfer requests more easily and efficiently, while improving transparency and accountability and reducing administrative delays.


Under the new process, an applicant must file an online application with detailed service information and five preferred districts. A designated officer verifies the details. After verification, the applicant can send mutual transfer proposals to eligible employees in the selected districts. If a counterpart accepts, the system automatically forwards the proposal to the head of the concerned directorate as approving authority. Following departmental scrutiny and approval, the transfer order is issued without manual intervention.

Sarma said Assam is the only state in India to adopt such a transparent digital framework for mutual transfers. Recalling his tenure as education minister, he said the concept was first piloted for teachers under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. He said setting uniform eligibility criteria across 38 departments and more than 75 directorates and heads of departments — covering grade pay, service rules and similarity of job roles — was a major challenge.

He said Swagat Satirtha 1.0, which operated from Jan 1 to Feb 28 last year, approved 4,502 mutual transfer applications, benefiting 9,004 employees across 32 departments. Sarma said the portal replaces paperwork and travel with an online process, noting that employees earlier had to visit Dispur and spend nearly Rs 10,000 on travel, accommodation and food while pursuing transfer requests.

The portal will open twice every financial year, and Sarma said he expects routine transfer applications among Grade III and IV staff to largely end within three years, except in cases of public interest.