Applying under Tatkal? Wait for passport to get shorter

BENGALURU: Passport applicants have reason to cheer. To provide faster service, the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Bengaluru, has increased the number of appointments for those applying under Tatkal category. At the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) in Lalbagh, the number has shot up from 140 to 240 per day; at Marathahalli it has increased from 60 to 160, said regional passport officer P S Karthikeyan. Even police verification will be done sooner than usual. "At present, the process takes at least 30 days. We have asked cops to submit verification reports within 21 days. With the department's cooperation, the average duration for the entire state has come down to 26 days this year as against 43 in 2013, he said. This year, five passport melas were conducted across the state in PSKs and three camps at Karwar, Mysuru and Belagavi. The RPO has organized another mela on December 20. Box: None will be shown the door The department has launched a "No Refusal" system December 1 onwards, under which applicants with valid appointments will not be refused service even if they fail to furnish all the requisite documents. Instead, they'll be issued tokens and given the option of submitting documents within one year from the date of registration of their file at the PSK. 5 lakh passports issued in 2014 The Bengaluru RPO issued 5 lakh passports this year, and it's all set to touch an all-time high of 5,20,000 passports by month-end. In 2013, RPO issued 4,36,939 passports. In 2013, in all the four PSKs — Lalbagh, Marathahalli, Hubbali and Mangaluru — the number of appointments per day stood at 1,610. This year, it's gone up to 2,500. -TOI