In an effort to provide online municipal services to residents of cantonments all over the country, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday launched a portal “e-Chhawani.”  It will help more than 20 lakh people living in 62 cantonments.

At the launch event here, the minister 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 and primary education in a defence cantonment area are provided by the cantonment board concerned, which is a civic administration body under the Ministry of Defence.

Rajnath 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.

He also said "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 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.