KOCHI: Passport Seva Kendra offices in each Lok Sabha constituency in the country? Yes. If all goes as per the plan, it will be a reality soon as the Ministry of External Affairs is working hard to bring the passport office closer to the public.Dnyaneshwar M Mulay, secretary, Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV division), announced the government’s plan while inaugurating the MEA’s attestation facility and the new office complex of protection of immigrants at Ernakulam Regional Passport office on Wednesday which was also attended by Regional Passport Officer Pransanth Chandran and Bindu Nair, protector of immigrants.
“There are many states in the country where people had to travel more than 1,000 km to reach the nearest passport office. In Indore, nearly 200-300 people are visiting Bhopal for getting a passport. As per the rough estimate, annually these people spend nearly `20-30 crore for transportation and food. It is just because of these aspects the government planned to bring PSK in each Lok Sabha constituency,” he said while delivering the inaugural address.
According to him, there were only 77 passport offices in the country during the year 2014. “But by 2018, we could add nearly 226 passport offices in the country. This is a huge change. We are working hard to establish more PSKs in other constituencies in the future. We have not only announced but made the offices operational,” he said, adding that passport is not like other ID cards. It is a document for mobility.
“As part of the pilot project, we have already started the same at Mumbai and Delhi airports. This is designed in a manner to help the passenger whenever they need help,” he added.
Meanwhile, he also said that Videsh Bhavan which will bring all offices under the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) under one roof, will be set up in the state if the state government is ready to provide the land. He also said efforts to renew the new immigration policy are also going in full swing.