Applicants wait in a queue at the Passport Seva Kendra office on Ashiana Road in Patna. Telegraph picture

Physical punishment then, torture by technology now. For a large number of Bihar residents, getting a passport remains an arduous task though the government is trying to streamline the process. There has been a steep drop in the number of passport approvals a day since the switch to an online system in February, raising questions about the efficacy of the much-hyped Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) on Ashiana Road, a project of the ministry of external affairs in collaboration with private partner Tata Consultancy Services.

The average number of applications submitted daily over the past three months is 400, around half of what the Regional Passport Office at Mauryalok got during the same period last year.

From February 9, when the Kendra started functioning, till the end of April, the total number of passports issued was around 1,400, including 155 under the Tatkal scheme. Last year, from January to December, the total number of passports issued was around 1.72 lakh, which comes to 14,333 passports issued in a month on an average.

Metro measures the difference between promise and reality at Patna’s lone Passport Seva Kendra.

Objective I

To offer citizens the comfort of sitting at home and fixing an appointment with a passport official to submit an application on a date and time of his or her choice. Bye-bye queues, hello convenience — or so we thought.

Reality: There are 600 available slots, including 50 for Tatkal per day, and 44 counters to cater to the public. Enough, you would think. But the number of applications is dwindling. Regional passport officer Anand Kumar accepted the fact that with the introduction of only online applications and physical presence of applicants while submitting the form, the number of applicants has gone down.

“With the system going totally online, the number of passport applications has come down. We hope that once the system develops and gets popular, the numbers will increase automatically,” he said.

Kumar pointed out that in the first few weeks, when the Passport Seva Kendra was launched in Patna, the average number of applications per day was less than 50, but now it has gone up to 400. “Whenever a new technology is introduced it takes time to get popular,” he added.

Sources said the decrease in the number of passport submission and issuance of passports is because a large chunk of applicants are not conversant with the new initiative. In Bihar, a sizeable number of passport seekers are Haj pilgrims, of whom many are from the poorer areas.

Aqil Haider, who had come to make enquiries about the passport of a relative, said though there are computers for making online applications inside the PSK, but there is no one who can provide assistance to those who are not tech-friendly. Hence, applicants have to depend on Internet cafes which are doing brisk business. “If the PSK claims to be more people-friendly there should be separate arrangements so that online applications can be made inside. But no such facilities exist for applicants who don’t know the Internet. Many people coming from rural areas don’t have an email id. Internet cafes around the PSK at Ashiana More are charging Rs 100 to Rs 150 for a single application,” Haider said.

Objective II

To reduce the time taken to transfer the police verification forms from the passport office to the police agencies. Earlier, the regional passport office at Mauryalok had to send the police verification forms to the respective offices of the district superintendents of police. Now the forms are supposed to reach these offices at the click of a mouse.

Reality: Verification forms that are to be checked by the police are still being manually transferred to the offices of the respective SPs. In Bihar, verification takes more than two months. In Gujarat, police verification takes just three weeks while in Kerala, it is around one month. Kumar, the regional passport officer, is hopeful that the time taken for issuance of the document will come down. “In the coming days, the time taken for issuance of passport will come down from the present 60 days once all the SP offices are connected to the PSK for police verification.”

Objective III

To speed up the process of getting verified forms back from the police agencies to the passport office. The online system is supposed to fast-track issue of passports by enabling forms verified by the police offices to be directly sent to the queue for printing at the regional passport office. On paper, the system couldn’t be smoother.

Reality: Technical glitches have been delaying the process of sending verified forms directly to the printing queue at the regional passport office by up to a month. In areas under Bihar police jurisdiction, little has changed with verified forms still being sent back to the passport authorities by hand.

Objective IV

To banish the network of touts whose bouquet of paid services at the regional passport office had included selling and filling up forms, queuing up from dawn for their customers and even requesting officials to speed up the process.

Reality: The role of touts has been diversified as physical presence and thumb impression is a must while submitting the passport application. Touts are now targeting an applicant who doesn’t know how to make an online application. These touts now provide Internet facilities for applicants and charge hefty amounts while making online application for application too from Internet cafes.