SETTING UP OF DISTRICT PASSPORT OFFICES
The Government has
decided to decentralise the passport services and to bring these
services closer to the people. Under this scheme, the passport
applicants can deposit their filled in passport application forms
through the office of the District Magistrate/Superintendent of
Police in every state throughout the country. The districts where
the number of applications exceeds 10,000 per year will have dedicated
District Passport Cells. The forms will be scrutinised and documents
checked by the District Passport Cells and then forwarded to the
Passport office who will issue the passports. The scheme has been
launched in twenty three States and one Union Territory of the
country.
As of now, partly
or fully, all states have implemented the decentralisation scheme
except the States of Goa, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal and
West Bengal. While Goa is a small state with only two districts
and their needs are fully addressed by a full-fledged Passport
Office in Panaji and the State Government of Karnataka has decided
to implement the scheme w.e.f 1.9.2003, there is no indication
from the state Governments of Rajasthan, Uttaranchal and West
Bengal as to the date of implementation of the scheme.
Since the passport
application is accepted at the district offices and sent to the
concerned passport office along with the clear police verification
report, it is envisaged that the time taken to issue a passport
will be reduced and a passport may be issued in about 4 to 5 weeks
time.
This information
was given by the Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri
Vinod Khanna in the Lok Sabha today.
STATEMENT SHOWING
STATE/UT-WISE DETAILS OF DISTRICT PASSPORT CELLS
|
State or UT Name
|
Total No. of Districts
|
No. of Districts having
DPCs
|
|
Andaman and Nicobar (UT)
|
2
|
0
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
23
|
20
|
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
13
|
2 PACC
|
|
Assam
|
23
|
9
|
|
Bihar
|
37
|
37
|
|
Chandigarh(UT)
|
1
|
-
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
16
|
16
|
|
Dadra and Nagar Haveli(UT)
|
1
|
0
|
|
Daman and Diu (UT)
|
2
|
0
|
|
Delhi
|
9
|
-
|
|
Goa
|
2
|
-
|
|
Gujarat
|
25
|
25
|
|
Haryana
|
19
|
19
|
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
12
|
9+1 PACC in Shimla
|
|
Jammu and Kashmir
|
14
|
12
|
|
Jharkhand
|
22
|
22
|
|
Karnataka
|
27
|
-
|
|
Kerala
|
14
|
4
|
|
Lakshadweep (UT)
|
1
|
1
|
