Click to play videoNew Delhi: External Affairs Minister SM Krishna is now focusing on the passport section. He is planning to introduce major reforms to make the process of getting a passport hassle free for the applicants.
According to the sources within a week of taking over the Ministry, Krishna held a high level meeting of passport officers with the following suggestions–
- Simplified police verification system, applicants can get local police to sign the form
- Tatkal passport to be issued on the same day
- Passport issuing not to take more than three days
- Applications to be available also in grocery shops
- Maximum waiting time for the applicants shouldn't cross 45 minutes at the passport offices
- Fulltime special officer to be appointed for looking into complaints
- Online process to be outsourced a Software giant
- Touts to be completely eliminated, and
- Cleaner passport offices
“Mr Krishna is the first minister who has tried to reform this process and I think little by little it has become better but clearly there is need for a reform,” says former foreign secretary Salman Haider.
According to several national surveys passport offices are one of the most corrupt public places in the country. The bribe people pay to touts runs into several thousand crores every year.
If Home ministry agrees to the suggested changes in the verification procedure, getting that blue book will be a pleasant experience in the coming days.
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