Guwahati, June 2: The ministry of external affairs is planning to open mini Passport Seva Kendras in four more states of the Northeast to streamline passport issuance and renewals.

Last year, the ministry had proposed setting up of these Passport Seva Laghu Kendras at Shillong, Imphal, Kohima and Itanagar, among other towns in remote corners of the country as part of the Passport Seva Project.

A mini kendra is a booth that receives fresh and renewal applications over the counter and transfers the files to the regional passport office for further processing.

“The external affairs ministry is soon planning to open mini kendras in four more state capitals of the Northeast. After opening one in Aizawl in July last year, the process to set up another in Shillong has begun and it will come up later this year. Subsequently, three more — one each at Imphal, Kohima and Itanagar — will be set up, hopefully, within two years,” T. Ajungla Jamir, regional passport officer, Guwahati, told The Telegraph.

“The response from the Aizawl kendra has been good. We receive the highest number of applications from it every month,” she said.

The Passport Seva Project, which was launched in 2010, aims “to deliver all passport-related services to citizens in a timely, transparent, more accessible and reliable manner”.

The Passport Seva Kendra here, set up in April last year through a public-private-partnership venture involving Tata Consultancy Services and the ministry, has streamlined the passport issuance/renewal system at the regional passport office, Guwahati. The number of applications processed every month has increased substantially after the project was launched, prior to which it took an average of three months for one to obtain a passport.

“The Passport Seva Project has systematised the procedure for obtaining an Indian passport at the regional passport office here,” Jamir said. “Tatkal passports are dispatched within two-three working days. Normal passports are issued upon receiving clear police verification reports.”

Police verification completion has also increased by over 48 per cent in the past four months, as the processing time has come down. Close to 6,000 applications are processed at the kendra every month.

“Police verification is initiated once an applicant’s file is processed. The personal particulars form is then sent to the police authorities for verification. The state home secretary regularly organises meetings with the regional passport office and other departments, which has helped speed up the process,” the official added.

The number of passports issued by the regional passport office, Guwahati, increased from 44,737 in 2010 to 54,483 in 2011.