BANGALORE: Efforts are on to reduce the time taken for the mandatory police verification to get a valid passport, said P S Karthigeyan, Regional Passport Officer on Wednesday.
He said at present, it takes around 30-40 days for the police verification process. The limit is around 21 days, but this rarely happens. “We are working with the Police Department to get this number (of days) down,” Karthigeyan said.
He was speaking at an interactive session organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI).
Addressing issues raised by FKCCI members, he said Bangalore ranks among the top cities in terms of issuing passports.
“The city tops the list when it comes to processing time, efficiency and grievance redressal,” he said.
Elaborating further, he said, “We have doubled the capacity of answering telephonic enquiries and e-mail queries.” Passport cells will have all guidelines displayed for better public awareness, he said.
“There are some things that the public is unaware of — like there is no need for a police verification if you are getting a passport reissued within three years of its expiry date. The same police report can be used even if there is an address change. Being aware of such provisions will help the applicant,” Karthigeyan explained.
Speaking about new initiatives, he said the shortage of passport booklets is being addressed and that efforts are under way to reduce the time spent by applicants at a Passport Seva Kendra.
“Currently an applicant spends at least two-three hours at the Kendra. We want to bring this waiting period down to one hour,” he said.
Karthigeyan also said the Gulbarga office will be converted to a mini Passport Seva Kendra to benefit people of North Karnataka.