Never-ending waiting periods, long queues and irate officials are a common occurrence at The Regional Mumbai Passport Office, Worli. With even tatkal procedures delayed by more than a week thanks to a backlog of cases, getting a passport is a Herculean task. Hemant Kotalwar, regional passport officer admits he is aware of the problems, but says the lack of manpower despite a monumental increase in traffic is the root cause of the situation. Not to forget the rush to get tatkal passports.
Matunga resident Dhvani Dagha’s recent visit to the new passport office regarding her sister’s passport under the tatkal scheme gives her nightmares. “I stood in the queue for more than six hours at counter number 16 to get my sister’s passport documents verified. When I reached counter number 3, the officer-in-charge refused to take the documents because my sister is a minor. They told me that parents are required to come for the form submission. I wonder why I was not told about that before,” reveals an angry Dagha.
For Mulund resident Sachin Y, it took almost four days to submit forms under the tatkal procedure. He says, “For four days, officials kept on pointing out what documents were missing. They wouldn’t give me a list of the required documents.”
While Sachin’s relieved that he has finally managed to file his documents, Lower Parel resident Neha Hindlekar is upset that the delay in getting her passport may put her career plans in jeopardy. Hindlekar requires her passport as her IATA course in September requires a passport. She complains, “In spite of standing in the queue for about six hours, my form was not accepted since my school leaving certificate was not attested by the principal. I had got it attested from a gazetted officer. Where am I going to get principal-attested copy? It’s vacation time.”
As per a Colaba-based passport agent, the scenario went from bad to worse in the last six months at the passport office. The reasons are plenty such as inadequate staff, untrained staff and absence of co-ordination. “The procedure for tatkal is quite lax. At times, after completing the paperwork and taking the fees, the passport officials realise that the applicant does not qualify for tatkal. Many staff members are not updated with the tatkal procedure,” divulges the passport agent on condition of anonymity.
Hemant Kotalwar, regional passport officer says, “Everybody is applying under tatkal nowadays, resulting in a delay. And my office doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure to support such heavy traffic. Most of the times the officials are unaware about the applicants’ background hence the form is accepted at the initial levels, but if he/she does not fall under the tatkal scheme, we have to reject the application. As far as the untrained staff is concerned, we update our staff members with all the procedures and schemes at a regular intervals.”
Lack of information too adds to the chaos, creating serpentine queues at the passport office that has already seen 50 lakh applications for passports this year compared to 35 lakh last year. “Most applicants are unaware of the documents required. Hence, their form submission takes quite long, which in turn delays the entire process,” explains Anil who has been conducting his business outside the old passport office since a decade.
While the de-centralisation of the passport office may help ease traffic, Kotalwar is concerned about the shortage of staff. “We now have 14 offices all over Mumbai but people are not using them. The demand for passports is always on the rise and we are trying to cope with staff shortage.”
While shortage of staff and extensive paper work seems to be a setback, some people also cite the absence of a proper sitting area as a problem. Dr Neelam Nijhara from Worli feels, “There should be a token system, which will save a lot of time. Also, some sitting arrangement should be made for the general public, who have to stand in the scorching sun for long hours.”
However, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel as Kotalwar mentions, “All passport-related issues are under consideration and a ministerial committee of secretaries are working to improve the scenario in the near future.”
15 days
Time taken to get a tatkal passport
2 months
Time that an ordinary passport takes
1,500
Number of applications the passport office receives daily
50 LAKH
No of passports given this year
Rs. 1,000
Fees for ordinary passport
Rs. 1,500
Extra charge for tatkal passport