In a move aimed at transforming citizen access to government services, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday announced that all government-to-citizen services will soon be available on WhatsApp. Reviewing the progress of public service delivery at his official residence ‘Varsha’, Fadnavis directed officials to integrate every service currently on the ‘Aaple Sarkar’ portal with the messaging platform.

Highlighting the state’s recent strides, the CMO revealed that 236 new services have been added in just the last 15 days, taking the total close to the ambitious target of 1,001. Out of these, 997 services are already active through the portal.

The Chief Minister said his vision is to take governance directly to people’s phones. He asked every taluka to form clusters of 10 to 12 villages, with dedicated teams addressing local needs and ensuring timely delivery of services. “Ease of access and timely delivery are non-negotiable,” Fadnavis emphasized, while stressing that the number of documents required for applications must be cut down.

To ensure accountability, he instructed that independent third-party audits be conducted to evaluate the quality of services. He also directed the creation of standardised dashboards across zilla parishads, municipal corporations, and universities, so citizens experience uniform and transparent governance.

Chief Secretary Rajesh Kumar, who was present at the meeting, suggested including a structured appeals mechanism within the service delivery framework. He also proposed a multi-channel system for certificate delivery — allowing citizens to receive their documents via email, portal, or WhatsApp.