CHENNAI: To ensure last-mile connectivity, the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Chennai, has introduced a mobile passport seva van which will be stationed in Krishnagiri district for three days from July 7, passport officer S Vijayakumar said on Thursday.
Vijaykumar said they will be issuing 30 appointments per day through the mobile van. This is in addition to the 40 appointments per day that the post office in Krishnagiri handles.
Appointments for the van can be booked through a drop-down menu on the official website.
The van service aims to provide passport services on the doorstep of those applicants who reside in rural areas and for last-mile delivery of citizen centric services.
The van was inaugurated in Chennai on June 16 by K J Srinivasa, Chief Passport Officer, Ministry of External Affairs.
Vijaykumar said RPO, Chennai, is the first unit in south India to start issuing e-passports from March. Around 1.2 lakh e-passports have been issued till date, he said. An e-passport is equipped with an RFID chip and an antenna embedded as an inlay of the passport and contains personal particulars and biometrics of the passport holder. It is a measure introduced to maintain the integrity of the passport holder in the wake of several complaints of forged passports coming to the fore, Vijaykumar said.
All passports being issued by RPO, Chennai, are now e-passports, he said. The office issues around 2,500 passports a day, he added.
Responding to queries about the presence of touts and middlemen for obtaining passports, Vijaykumar attributed it to the lack of awareness among public regarding the simple procedures to obtain the document from the RPO. Another PSK will soon be opened in Perambur in North Chennai, the officer said, adding that a policy decision has been taken to introduce at least one passport office in every parliamentary constituency.