HYDERABAD: To discourage mediators’ involvement and provide timely services in a transparent manner, the Regional Passport Office here has set up Passport Seva Kendras in the twin cities and at Vijayawada, Tirupati and Nizamabad. Speaking to mediamen here on Tuesday, regional passport officer K Srikar Reddy said the Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) would function shortly. The state capital will have three kendras, one each at Ameerpet, Tolichowki and Begumpet. These will be functioning from November 25.
“Applicants need not stand in long queues and wait endlessly in front of the Regional Passport Office in Secunderabad to submit applications. They can visit passport office’s website and book a slot. After being assigned the application number, the applicants can approach the nearest PSK and submit their bona-fidess. We will issue normal passport in 30 days days and Tatkal passport in three days,’’ he said.
Reddy said the passport department launched 77 PSKs across the country in collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in private-public partnership mode.
TCS will assist the passport department through outsourcing in issuing passports in a jiffy. The department will get police enquiry details online. “As many as 2,000 passports a day will be issued to applicants through the PSKs in the twin cities. The new initiative will help us in preventing private agents’ involvement.’’
The RPO said that they would set up one passport centre at each district headquarters to deliver passport-related services in a timely, transparent, more accessible and reliable manner and in a comfortable environment through streamlined processes and committed, trained and motivated work force. With fake passport cases being reported in the twin cities, he said, they identified as many as 100 applicants and sent their documents to the Election Commission for verification. As of now, they received the report that 10 of the applicants submitted fake proofs and they asked the city police for necessary action against them.
For more details and to apply for a passport online, one can visit http://www.ap.nic.in/passport.
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