Chennai Passport Office issues 5 lakh passports in 2023
The Hindu
RPO Chennai achieved 5 lakh passports in 2023, reducing police verification time & introducing walk-in enquiries & tatkal appointments.
The Regional Passport Office, Chennai has achieved a new milestone by providing over five lakh passports in the year 2023.
According to a press release from Regional Passport Officer S. Koventhan, the Chennai RPO has achieved five lakh passports in one year for the first time since its inception in 1953 thanks to the team of officers and staff at the RPO Chennai. The previous record was in the year 2018, when 4.83 lakh passports were issued.
In the year 2023, efforts were taken by RPO Chennai to reduce the time taken for the police verification process. In the Chennai city, the average police verification time was between eight and 10 days in January 2023 but it has now been reduced to 3-4 days. Similarly, in 12 districts under the jurisdiction of RPO Chennai, the time for police verification has been reduced from 14 days to 7-8 days. Thanks to Chennai Police Commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore and North Zone IG N. Kannan the time for police verification has been reduced in these districts, Mr. Koventhan said.
In 2023, walk-in enquiries (without prior appointments) was started for applicants who had applied for passports but could not obtain it for reasons such as non-submission of required documents and changes in personal particulars. This walk-in facility is available on all working days (except Tuesday) between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Regional Passport Office, Rayala Towers, Anna Salai. This measure has immensely helped applicants to resolve their issues by faster means, he said.
With effect from January 1, 2024, tatkal appointments for passport services will be available at all four Passport Seva Kendras of Chennai RPO (Saligramam, Aminjikarai, Tambaram and Puducherry). Over 20,000 passport-related grievances were resolved in this year through various mechanisms such as telephone enquiry, email, WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter) and Skype in the calendar year 2023, the release said.
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