Passport procedures streamlined

CALCUTTA, DEC 24: Minister of State for External Affairs Ajit Panja today said various measures have been undertaken to streamline the pro...

CALCUTTA, DEC 24: Minister of State for External Affairs Ajit Panja today said various measures have been undertaken to streamline the process of issuing passports with an aim to enter the new millennium with zero pendency in all the 28 passport offices in the country.

Panja, who was laying the foundation stone for the new office of the Branch Secretariat, MEA, and regional passport office here, said that from January 1, 2000, passports in general category will be issued within 15 days from the date of submission and within seven days under the Tatkal scheme, despite delays in police verification reports.

Students going abroad for higher education with a family income of less than Rs 2000 per month will be issued passports under the Tatkal scheme without extra charges, he said, adding that the facility will also be provided for citizens wishing to travel outside the country to attend ailing relatives.

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If an application is submitted along with a certificate by an officer not below the rank of deputy secretary, the passports under Tatkal scheme would be issued before police verification, he said.

The new Videsh Bhavan here will be ready in two years, he added.

Panja said that the MEA has already launched a special “pendency clearance drive” from November to clear all backlogs within this year.

In 1990, the passport offices issued a total 16.15 lakh passports which increased to 22.23 lakh passports in 1998, he said, adding that the backlog of 2.9 lakh passports on October 13, when the present government took charge, was reduced to 40,000 on December 15.

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The measures taken by the department for the applicants’ convenience also include computerisation of the procedures in 18 of 28 offices, simplification of police verification procedures, increase in the availability of passport application forms and better accessibility by establishing 15 passport collection centres in addition to the existing passport offices, he said.

The rest of the ten passport offices would be computerised soon, he said, adding that the department has already launched a website carrying all essential information on passport and visa matters.

The department has undertaken on-the-spot redressal of grievances by holding passport adalat

s in its 11 passport offices, he said.

He said the department will absorb and regularise 800 casual workers country-wide from January one, 2000.