HYDERABAD: The delay in
verification process of passports has just not cost the applicants
dearly but also the state government. According to a recent finding
through an RTI application, the state government
has lost about Rs 10 crore which it was entitled to from the central
government in the last five years due to the delay in police
verifications. According to him, the delay in the verification process is taxing for
citizens and giving rise to corruption. However, special branch
officials blame the lack of manpower and overburdened staff for the
situation. A senior official attached to the Special Branch said, "The
passport verification is only an additional duty for us among many
others. On an average, the Cyberabad
and Hyderabad zones receive a total of 40% of the total passport
applications of the state. Each officer has at least 10 applications to
verify at any given time and each verification takes at least one hour.
At this rate we would only be doing passport verification throughout the
day." He also said that there could be practical problems leading to
the delay, including difficulty in finding the address of applicants,
change of address, credentials and background verification from
different departments.
The central government through the Regional Passport Office (RPO) pays Rs 100 per verification to the state government if it is done within 21 days but pays only Rs 25 if it gets delayed for more than that stipulated time. The verification is undertaken by the Special Branch of the AP police. Even after consistently losing close to Rs 2 crore every year the government seems to have done little to ensure better inflow into the state coffers.
The loss of funds is indicative of the bigger problem that passport-seekers go through. The RTI query has revealed that the passport applications verified within 21 days stood at just about 6.5% in 2007, a lowly 2% in 2008, only to hit an all time low of 0.7% in 2009. In 2010, only 2.5% of the total applications were verified within 21 days. However, 2011 figures were a little better with 25% of the verifications done within 21 days time. On an average, 2.5 - 3 lakh passport applications are received by the Hyderabad RPO.
RTI activist P Ramakrishna, who has been filing RTI applications on this issue for the last six months, said "I wanted to know the exact reasons for the delay in processing passport applications. I learnt that it was mainly due to police verifications but I was shocked to know that the state government was losing a considerable revenue due to the delay in the process. Hence, I decided to get the exact figures for the last five years." He adds, "Is it that difficult for the government to improve the situation by employing a few more people (for verifications) and earn at least a part of the revenue?"
The central government through the Regional Passport Office (RPO) pays Rs 100 per verification to the state government if it is done within 21 days but pays only Rs 25 if it gets delayed for more than that stipulated time. The verification is undertaken by the Special Branch of the AP police. Even after consistently losing close to Rs 2 crore every year the government seems to have done little to ensure better inflow into the state coffers.
The loss of funds is indicative of the bigger problem that passport-seekers go through. The RTI query has revealed that the passport applications verified within 21 days stood at just about 6.5% in 2007, a lowly 2% in 2008, only to hit an all time low of 0.7% in 2009. In 2010, only 2.5% of the total applications were verified within 21 days. However, 2011 figures were a little better with 25% of the verifications done within 21 days time. On an average, 2.5 - 3 lakh passport applications are received by the Hyderabad RPO.
RTI activist P Ramakrishna, who has been filing RTI applications on this issue for the last six months, said "I wanted to know the exact reasons for the delay in processing passport applications. I learnt that it was mainly due to police verifications but I was shocked to know that the state government was losing a considerable revenue due to the delay in the process. Hence, I decided to get the exact figures for the last five years." He adds, "Is it that difficult for the government to improve the situation by employing a few more people (for verifications) and earn at least a part of the revenue?"
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