Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Undue delay irks passport applicants

— Photo: S. James

Long wait: Public standing in queue in front of the Passport Office in the city.

MADURAI: “I am from Aruppukottai with a diploma in civil engineering. I applied for a passport at the Madurai Passport Office in January. Even after the completion of verification process, the officials have not issued my passport till date. I have been receiving offers from Dubai for the last six months….But without the passport, I am simply stuck.”

An automobile engineer from TVS Nagar said that he applied for a passport in March and he had no clue as to when it would be issued by the authorities. “I had an opportunity to visit Tokyo in June. But due to the delay, I could not proceed abroad”, he said.

A woman from Virudhunagar complained that though an employee assured her in May that within 15 working days she would receive her passport, she was yet to get it. “Even after personally visiting the office thrice with my two-year-old daughter, I have not got my passport,” she fumed.

A few others from other places suggested that the passport officials could conduct adalats in their respective districts at regular intervals and clarify doubts on the spot.

The woes of applicants are aplenty and it looks like the number of aggrieved persons may rise in the ensuing weeks, since the Passport Office itself has its own grievances.

Many staff members, who spoke to The Hindu, said that since its inception last year the sanctioned strength had not been provided to the Madurai Passport Office. Many officers’ posts also remained vacant.

There are no separate staff members assigned for searching lost files of applicants who complained of delay in issuance of passport. Things were getting things done with the existing strength. Despite repeated pleas, the authorities had not taken steps to fill the vacancies, they alleged.

As a ‘temporary’ arrangement, officers from other offices are being deputed on rotation. An officer in the rank of Passport Officer from Chennai had been working here on deputation for about a month apart from the regular Passport Officer, they added.

Madurai Passport Officer V. Sundararaman said that the office received about 500 to 600 new applications every day from different destinations. Authorities in the Ministry of External Affairs were aware of the staff shortage here and he hoped to get the sanctioned strength soon.

Keeping in mind the need to bring down the delay in issuance of new passports, officers had been conducting adalats in which they individually checked the status of applications on the spot and informed the likely date of release of the passport. To control the crowd, police had been deployed and steps were also being taken to keep away touts from the premises, another officer said.

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