Chennai Passport Office surpasses its annual target

The Passport Office registers a rise in issuances in the calander year 2014 by clearing 390,000 passports, as against a targeted 383,000 passports

The Regional Passport Office in Chennai registered a rise in issuances in the calander year 2014 by clearing 390,000 passports, as against a targeted 383,000 passports.

Addressing mediapersons here, C Senthil Pandian, regional passport officer, said the performance came on the back of various measures like conducting passport melas, passport seva camps, increasing the number of appointment slots in passport seva kendras (PSKs) and extension in working hours .

In 2014, six passport melas were conducted during which 5929 passports were issued for a total 6,858 applications. Special passport seva camps were held at Puducherry and Cuddalore, reaching out to 600 applicants.

Pandian said the Union Territory of Puducherry would soon have a mini passport seva kendra for which a building had already been earmarked. Renovation work on the building was underway and expected to be completed in two-three months, he said. It would cover the jurisdiction of Puducherry, Cuddalore and Villipuram.

The Chennai office increased the total appointments from 1,850 to 2,730 for PSKs at Saligramam, Aminjikarai and Tambaram during last year.

About 1,045 common service centres are functional across Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Thiruvannamalai and Vellore jurisdiction. These centres have been serving rural population in all stages, right from applying for passport to online payment, at just Rs 100, he said.

He also said several welfare measures were started for the public and the staff, including mobile charging points at Chennai RPO and a library at Saligramam PSK. A facebook account for Chennai RPO is active now, providing information on the available services.

Pandian said most of the applicants seeking fresh passports were from Chennai and the average time for issuing passports along with police verification was 15 days. Tatkal passport and renewal passports are being issued in a maximum two days. The Chennai RPO is planning to conduct special passport seva camps exclusively for advocates and mediapersons, he added.