To expedite submission of police verification reports (PVRs) of passport applicants, Ganjam and Brahnapur district police headquarters (DPHs) would soon be linked online with the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Bhubaneswar.
The Government has set a deadline to complete the process under the DPH model of External Affairs Ministry by January 15, official sources said. At present, the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate police and the Jharsuguda police district are linked to the RPO under the model.
The applicants would get their passports very soon after implementation the scheme, said an RPO official here. “We have already imparted training to police officers across the State and provided necessary device for the purpose,” said the official, who was here for a two-day Passport Seva Camp.
Issue of passport is now taking a long time as PVR is being dispatched by police by post to the passport office. Under the existing process, after verification of the applications, the PVRs are sent to police headquarters, which forward them to the passport office for further processing. “If the police report is clear, we will dispose of the application soon,” said the passport officer.
“We have also introduced an SMS service system to help applicants know about the stage of the processing,” he said. The applicant has to pay a nominal Rs 30 to avail the SMS services, he added.
The process to link the Brahmapur and Ganjam DPHs with the RPO, Bhubaneswar, is expected to be completed by the end of December. Brahmapur had the second passport camp in the State after Rourkela.