Passport centre opens at ITO, another at Bikaji Place in Mar

Delhiites do not need to travel to Ghaziabad, Shalimar Garden and Gurgaon anymore to get a general passport made. HT reports.

Delhiites do not need to travel to Ghaziabad, Shalimar Garden and Gurgaon anymore to get a general passport made.

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After some delay, a passport seva kendra, a mission mode e-governance project from the ministry of external affairs, was opened at ITO on Thursday.

Applicants will be now able to procure their passport three days after police verification. Tatkal passports will be issued the next working day.

"The police verification takes 10 to 12 days from the day of application, so within 15 days we will be able to issue the passport," said a senior TCS officer. Minister for external affairs SM Krishna inaugurated the passport kendra, the 50th in the country.

The opening of the passport kendra at ITO comes a respite for residents of central and south Delhi who were forced to travel all the way to Shalimar Garden, Sahibabad and Gurgaon for general passports after the office at Bikaji Cama place was shut in December last year.

The government has tied up with the Tata consultancy services (TCS) to run these digital passport centers across India.

The applicant has to seek an appointment first by filling an online form at www.passportindia.gov.in after which a token number will be generated with a scheduled appointment time and date.

The centres will be connected to the Delhi police headquarters for a hassle-free verification process. Another centre, the fourth in Delhi/NCR, will come up at Bikaji Cama Place by March end for the convenience of south Delhi residents.

"It is a milestone for the government as it makes the procedure prompt and effective," Krishna said.