Amritsar: RPO increases number of appointments to reduce pendency of applications

Amritsar, December 11

The Regional Passport Office (RPO) has increased the number of appointments from 1,555 to 1,670 to reduce the pendency of applications in Amritsar. In a press statement, Abhishek Sharma, who took charge of the Regional Passport Officer recently, claimed that several other people-friendly steps were taken to streamline the process of issuing new and renewal of passports.

“Officials of the Regional Passport Office can be approached between 9 am and 1 pm daily for resolving issues,” he said. Sharma said the number of appointments had increased from 1,555 to 1,670 at the RPO. Further, the police clearance certificate (PCC) appointments increased from 65 to 70 every day, he said, while adding these would go up to 100 next year.

Earlier, for general appointments, applicants had to wait for three months. Now, the waiting time has reduced to one month. In mobile vans, the waiting time for appointments is only five days.

In the Tatkal (urgent) category, the earlier appointment period was of three months. Now, the appointment is available next day. Similarly, the waiting time for the PCC has reduced from three months to one month.

“The RPO is committed to bring down the appointment time further. More steps will be taken in this regard in the coming days. Apart from this, 250 to 300 applicants on an average come for an inquiry at the office. Officials concerned try to resolve their grievances on the spot. A special drive has been launched to review pending cases for the last six months. Around 100 cases are being investigated and disposed of daily,” said Sharma.