Passport office to work on Saturday, Sunday
to clear backlog
Source : The Times of India, June 22, 2012
Courtesy: http://aipeup3tn.blogspot.in
To ensure prompt delivery of passports,
the postal department has been roped in.
NEW DELHI: The TOI campaign on the passport logjam
has made the government
put reforms on the fast track. In an
unprecedented move, the ministry of external affairs on
Thursday
announced a 'Passport Mela' this weekend at many PSKs countrywide - the
kendras
will remain open on Saturday and Sunday and people can just walk
in, without an appointment.
This practice will continue till the entire backlog has been cleared.
In
a special briefing to TOI, Raghavendra Shastry, adviser to external
affairs minister S M Krishna,
gave details of fresh measures that are
expected to address the concerns raised by the people
- and reported by
this newspaper to help make the new passport application process
smoother and
an additional 30% slots are being released. This will take the
number of daily slots in the capital
from 1,650 to 2,050. Moreover,
appointments will now be given for up to 30 days instead
of 15.
"This way, we believe we will be able to process 6 lakh
applications in the country this year,
" said chief passport officer and
joint secretary in MEA Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi.
"We
have taken the suggestions given by TOI seriously and want people to
know that we are
working hard on them. There has been a huge backlog of
applications due to the holiday rush,
which is why we are having this passport mela. MEA is doing it for the
first time in the country.
This will help us smoothen the service in
about six weeks from now," said Shastry.
"We
will entertain walk-ins only on weekends. And people need not form
queues early in the morning.
They can come anytime after 10am," said Basant K Gupta, additional secretary, consular passport & visa
division, MEA.
They can come anytime after 10am," said Basant K Gupta, additional secretary, consular passport & visa
division, MEA.
The
ministry has reiterated its promise of revisiting its website. "There
has been a lot of confusion over
the passport application website. The older site, www.passport.gov.in is no longer functional but people
have been visiting it. Therefore, we are going to redirect traffic from there to our functional portal,
www.passportindia.gov.in. We are also going to prepare a fresh list of documents required for applying
under various categories. There will be no ambiguity in %the process anymore," Gupta said.
the passport application website. The older site, www.passport.gov.in is no longer functional but people
have been visiting it. Therefore, we are going to redirect traffic from there to our functional portal,
www.passportindia.gov.in. We are also going to prepare a fresh list of documents required for applying
under various categories. There will be no ambiguity in %the process anymore," Gupta said.
Does
this mean that there will be no more surprise demands for additional
documents by PSKs?
"Yes. TCS staff will no longer decide what documents are needed. Now, only government officials will
check if all documents are in place and if anything else is required," said Gupta.
"Yes. TCS staff will no longer decide what documents are needed. Now, only government officials will
check if all documents are in place and if anything else is required," said Gupta.
So
far, the applicants who were turned back by PSKs for lack of documents
had to try their luck again with
%the online appointment system to book a slot. "This will not happen anymore. If there is any requirement
of a document, an applicant will be given three days to return with the papers," Pardeshi said.
%the online appointment system to book a slot. "This will not happen anymore. If there is any requirement
of a document, an applicant will be given three days to return with the papers," Pardeshi said.
To
ensure prompt delivery of passports, the postal department has been
roped in. "The postman will be given an incentive of Rs 50 per delivery.
He will call up or send an SMS before coming to ensure that the
passport is
delivered to the person to whom it is issued," said
Raghavendra Shastry,
advisor to minister of external affairs.
He
said that the system will be implemented across the country and S M
Krishna will personally
write to all state chief ministers to ensure implementation of the revised rules.
write to all state chief ministers to ensure implementation of the revised rules.
Apart
from Delhi, passport melas will be held at the following places: RPO,
Koramangla, and PSKs at
Sai Arcade, Lalbagh, Mangalore and Hubli in Bangalore; RPO and PSKs at Nelson Manickam Road,
Saligramam, and Tambaram in Chennai; RPO and PSKs at Begumpet, Ameerpet, Toli Chowki, Vijayawada,
Tirupati and Nizamabad in Hyderabad; RPO and PSKs in Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur; and
passport office at 14 Mall Road in Amristar.
Sai Arcade, Lalbagh, Mangalore and Hubli in Bangalore; RPO and PSKs at Nelson Manickam Road,
Saligramam, and Tambaram in Chennai; RPO and PSKs at Begumpet, Ameerpet, Toli Chowki, Vijayawada,
Tirupati and Nizamabad in Hyderabad; RPO and PSKs in Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur; and
passport office at 14 Mall Road in Amristar.
Courtesy: http://aipeup3tn.blogspot.in
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