More than 1,300 passport applications are pending across Jharkhand for want of police verification, the highest numbers in the capital, Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh, Bokaro and Dhanbad.

With this in mind, state police launched a 5-day drive from Monday across all districts to clear pending verifications, a mandatory background check required before issuing a passport to any individual. As regional passport officer Sanatan said, it was the prompt action taken by DGP D.K. Pandey that was behind the campaign.

Sanatan, who had recently met Pandey to apprise him of the Regional Passport Office's (RPO) efforts to achieve "zero tolerance" in passport delays, said, "The DGP was prompt enough to extend all cooperation. He immediately issued directives to all districts to launch a special drive from May 9 to May 13 and clear all pending verifications."

A senior officer at state police headquarters admitted to the delays, saying these happened due to logistical and manpower issues, besides policemen's preoccupation with law and order duties. "Jharkhand police is also of the view that the verification process shouldn't suffer as obtaining a passport is every citizen's right," the officer said.

As per the provisions of Right to Service Act, police verification for issuing a passport should be completed in 21 days. That means a police report vis-a-vis an applicant must be at the RPO within that time.

Yet, that is not happening, although the number of passports held up due to pending police verification is on the decline compared to previous years.

Sanatan maintained that as of Monday, 1,300 passport applications were awaiting police verification, well beyond the 21-day time limit. "Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh, Bokaro and Dhanbad have the highest backlogs. These places are the worst in terms of pendency," he said.

The RPO noted that the process to apply for a passport had been moved online, thereby making it simpler and far more convenient for citizens.

"The online process cuts bureaucratic red tape. Soon after an applicant has his/ her biometric scans done at our passport seva kendra, we process the file and try to initiate a police verification request the same day. Then, the matter is with the police. Roughly, we receive over 300 applications a day," he said.

The high number of applications is the reason why police verification is delayed, said a Ranchi police officer involved in passport related work. "Pendency is directly proportional to the number of applicants. Therefore, you will always find it on the higher side in Ranchi and places like Jamshedpur. Still, compared to before, the police have become more sensitive towards passport verifications," he said.