Pune RPO makes appointments available at earlier dates
Applicants have the option to book new appointments and bring forward already booked appointments accordingly
PUNE: The ministry of external affairs is pulling out all stops to make passport appointments available to citizens at earlier dates. Not only are already booked appointment slots freed due to cancellation or rescheduling released every day and made available to applicants, Tatkaal scheme appointments are released at 12 noon and normal scheme appointments are released at 8.30 pm for Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) under the Regional Passport Office, Pune. Applicants have the option to book new appointments and bring forward already booked appointments accordingly.
A release issued by the Pune RPO stated that the system allots appointments on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis. As per the release, the system is dynamic and the likelihood of getting any particular appointment date and time is based on the number of people applying for the same at any given point in time. Applicants are advised to exercise caution while trying to bring forward appointments as they must realise that they are letting go of existing appointments and accepting the risk of getting new appointments which might be at a later date.
The release stresses that the Tatkaal scheme is a priority and not a premium service. Applications under the Tatkaal scheme must be made exclusively by those applicants who really need passports on an urgent basis. Many Tatkaal scheme applicants fall under ineligible categories and/or do not possess the required number of proper documents. To check the misuse and trivialisation of the Tatkaal scheme, eligibility and document criteria will be strictly enforced and ineligible and document-deficient applications will not be accepted, the release clarifies. On the day of their appointment at the PSK, such applicants must request for an ‘application EDIT’ option to convert the Tatkaal scheme application into normal scheme application and reschedule their appointments on their own, the release said.
Regional passport officer Dr Arjun Deore said, “In 2022, we issued 113,000 more (about 50% more) passports than in 2021. Continuing the momentum, in the first two months of 2023, we issued 29,000 more passports compared to the corresponding period in 2022. We also increased the total number of appointments given per day for passports and PCCs. This year, at the PSK Pune, the normal and Tatkaal scheme appointments were increased to 1,025 and 250 per day, respectively. Last year, we also started the Police Clearance Certificate at various online PSKs.”
