Getting a passport may soon become easier and quicker The government has approved an innovative Passport Seva Project.
"The Union Cabinet has given its approval to a comprehensive reform of the passport issuance system," Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said after a meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday evening.
Fast Forward
- The non-recurring expenditure will amount to Rs 29 crore, out of which Rs 12 crore will be spent in 2007-08 and Rs 17 crore in 2008-09
- In 2007-08, the only recurring expenditure is Rs 75 lakh for setting Project Management Unit.
"The Passport Seva Project wn result in delivery of passport-related services to the citizens in a time-bound, transparent, more accessible and reliable manner," he said. The Cabinet has set a 19-month deadline for the project. The new facilitation centres are expected be ready by April 2009.
Under this project, the government wn outsource front-end activities to service providers who will set up 68 passport facilitation centres. Existing passport offices wE be upgraded at a cost of Rs 8 crore and used to provide back-end support to the new centres. The facilitation centres would provide a comfortable environment to applicants and have a committed, trained and motivated work force, an official said.
But all this will be at a price. The service providers would will be allowed to levy an additional fee over and above the government fee for each service they provide.
Dasmunsi said the project also included upgrading information technology available to the passport offices and setting up a central printing unit. Passport offices will be linked with police to improve monitoring and reduce delays in police verification. The government will also outsource dispatch of passports to India Post.
From: HT, 07/09/08
