Lok Sabha Question No. 31 (STARRED), answered on 2015-07-22
Subject: Passport Melas
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: BHAVANA GAWALI (PATIL), KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

LOK SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO.31

TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2015

PASSPORT MELAS

†*31.		SHRIMATI BHAVANA PUNDALIK GAWALI PATIL:

SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)	whether the Government has taken note of  problems  faced by applicants in not  getting timely appointment from Passport Seva Kendras  leading to delay in issuance of   passports and if so, the details thereof;

(b)	whether various passport offices have recently organised passport melas;

(c)	if so, the details thereof along with the number of applications received  and disposed, separately, in these passport melas, Passport-wise;

(d)	whether more such melas are proposed to be organised in various parts of the country in near future; and

(e)	 if so, the details in this regard and if not, the reasons therefor?

**ANSWER**

THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

(SHRIMATI SUSHMA SWARAJ)

(a) to (e)	A Statement is laid on the table of the House.

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**STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 31 REGARDING “PASSPORT MELAS” FOR ANSWER ON 22.07.2015**

**(a):** (i)  Yes, Madam.  The Government is aware of the difficulties faced by applicants at a few locations for not getting appointments promptly due to heavy demand for passport services which have increased by 30% in the last 2 years. It had also been observed that many of the applicants were not turning up at the Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) despite scheduling valid appointments. This was not only resulting in lesser utilization of processing capacity of the PSKs, but was also causing denial of appointments to other genuine applicants. To meet heavy demand for passport services, the Government has been organizing Passport Melas at weekends at PSKs as per need.  ‘Walk-in’  facility   has  also been  allowed  for certain categories of services and citizens such as  Tatkaal  passports,  Police Clearance Certificates  and  issue of new booklets where pages have been exhausted, Senior citizens (above 60 years) and  differently-abled persons. In order to provide closer and speedier passport services to people located far away from PSKs, Passport Seva Camps are also being organized at various locations in the country. To minimise ‘no-shows’, the Government has introduced online advance payment of passport fees since 5 th July, 2013.

(ii) These measures have resulted in substantial improvement in availability of appointments. As on 15 th July, 2015, out of 82 PSKs, appointments were available in 59 PSKs within 7 calendar days, in 11 PSKs within 8 to 14 days, in 5 PSKs within 15 to 21 days and in 7 PSKs from 22 to 30 days.  Comparatively, as on 1 st September, 2014, out of 77 PSKs operational at that time, appointments were available in 29 PSKs within 7 days, in 11 PSKs within 8 to 14 days, in 11 PSKs within 15 to 21 days, in 10 PSKs between 22 to 30 days and in 16 PSKs beyond   30 days.

**(b) to (e):** From 1 st January to 30 th June, 2015, 252 Passport Melas have been organized  on weekends  by various Passport Offices where 1,73,779 passport applications have been processed. The passport Office –wise details are annexed.  The Passport Melas would continue to be held by the concerned Passport Offices on need basis.

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Encls: Annexure

**Annexure**

##### 1 

##### 2 Number of Passport Melas conducted by Passport Offices, applications received and Passports issued during January – June, 2015.

| **Passport Office**   | **Number of Melas**   | **Applications Received**   | **Passports Issued**   |
|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------------|------------------------|
| Ahmedabad             | 26                    | 15,654                      | 11,928                 |
| Amritsar              | 8                     | 4,582                       | 4,411                  |
| Bangalore             | 19                    | 18,672                      | 17,305                 |
| Bareilly              | 4                     | 2,472                       | 2,327                  |
| Bhopal                | 2                     | 1,459                       | 791                    |
| Chandigarh            | 8                     | 5,900                       | 5,366                  |
| Chennai               | 1                     | 734                         | 715                    |
| Cochin                | 4                     | 2,336                       | 1,742                  |
| Coimbatore            | 2                     | 967                         | 908                    |
| Dehradun              | 3                     | 930                         | 886                    |
| Delhi                 | 20                    | 10,838                      | 8,578                  |
| Ghaziabad             | 4                     | 3,020                       | 2,148                  |
| Goa                   | 1                     | 113                         | 106                    |
| Hyderabad             | 18                    | 9,332                       | 8,460                  |
| Jaipur                | 9                     | 2,536                       | 2,356                  |
| Jalandhar             | 6                     | 2,190                       | 2,154                  |
| Jammu                 | 3                     | 571                         | 372                    |
| Kolkata               | 14                    | 18,314                      | 10,474                 |
| Lucknow               | 26                    | 19,680                      | 15,826                 |
| Madurai               | 3                     | 1,929                       | 1,825                  |
| Malappuram            | 5                     | 5,895                       | 5,521                  |
| Mumbai                | 12                    | 7,055                       | 6,553                  |
| Nagpur                | 4                     | 2,578                       | 2,305                  |
| Patna                 | 1                     | 454                         | 369                    |
| Pune                  | 11                    | 11,517                      | 8,506                  |
| Raipur                | 2                     | 478                         | 366                    |
| Ranchi                | 2                     | 512                         | 266                    |
| Srinagar              | 4                     | 1,179                       | 700                    |
| Surat                 | 10                    | 7,549                       | 7,009                  |
| Thane                 | 15                    | 12,517                      | 8,669                  |
| Trivandrum            | 5                     | 1,816                       | 1,772                  |
| Total                 | **252**               | **1,73,779**                | **1,40,714**           |

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