The mess at the Passport Suvidha Kendra on BSZ Marg near ITO is far from getting over. Even nearly a year after it became operational, the services have not become normal, leading to delay in various services.
Right from booking an online appointment to get the documents verified, applicants continue jostling with inconveniences. The wait gets even longer when one encounters the inept staff posted at this centre. One has to spend not less than five hours to complete all formalities before the applicant is issued a file number.
As applicants said, the online appointment slot is for 45 minutes wherein all formalities have to be completed but it takes at least five to six hours for the same. They blamed it on the staff at the PSK for delaying the entire process. “The queue only gets longer and longer. The process of document verification and other formalities consume a lot of time. One has to spend at least an hour on each of the windows before a file number is finally generated,” said Dipika, a housewife, who had to spend six hours at the PSK.
Another applicant Neha Goel rued that getting an appointment was more difficult. “It’s not an easy task to get an appointment. After repeated failed attempts, I had to get it done through an agent,” she said.
last year, the Ministry of External Affairs had decided to depute special facilitators on each of the PSKs, who would help the passport seekers to fill the online form and book an appointment. However, the plan is yet to materialise. The service was to be made available at a minimal charge of Rs 100 per application. Shortage of manpower and untrained staff is another hurdle in speedy disposal of the applications.
“Management is inefficient. A lot of time is wasted on each window for various procedures like getting an electronic token, getting a photograph and document verification. Whether it is a fresh application or for the renewal, the process is equally complicated,” said Ramesh Sharma, another applicant. “They are making me run for no reason and unnecessarily harassing me. The client service manager is of no help at all,” he added.
Some others said that the verification form is, at times, not made available in the morning hours causing much hassles to the passport seekers. Further, there is no separate inquiry window and even the staff deputed at other windows fails to answer the queries of the applicants. They suggested providing a separate counter for inquiry as mostly the staff was busy taking applications and very curtly replied to queries.
However, officials too admitted that staff shortage was primarily the reason behind the delay. They said some data entry operators have recently been recruited and they are undergoing training. “The Department of Personnel and Training has assured giving more people this year. The Ministry has taken adequate measures to lessen the burden on the staff of both the passport offices and Tata Consultancy Services, who have to work for the whole week,” said an official of the Passport Department of MEA.