The Passport Office here has won the national award instituted by the Ministry of External Affairs for the best passport office in the B category.
Passport Officer P. Ramakrishnan said that it was the first award for the Malappuram office since it came into being in August 2006 as the 31st passport office in the country. Passport offices in the country are divided into three categories based on the number of passports they issue every year.
Categories
Passport offices issuing more than 2.5 lakh passports a year belong to the A category, while those issuing more than 1.5 lakh but less than 2.5 lakh passports a year come under the B category. Those issuing less than 1.5 lakh passports a year are in the C category.
The Malappuram Passport Office is arguably the only one in the country catering to one district. It issued 2.45 lakh passports last year.
Second place
The Jalandhar Regional Passport Office was in the second position in the B category.
Apart from the number of passports issued, the quality of service rendered, the quality of passport service in general, the number of complaints handled, and the speed with which passport applications are processed are considered for the award.
Function on June 26
The Passport Officer will accept the award from Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi on June 26. The country will celebrate Passport Seva Din on June 24.
Award for employee
Jaya S., superintendent at the Passport Office here, also won the best print operator award. It was the first award to come to an employee at the Malappuram office.
“We have won the award because of the dedication and cooperation of all the staff members. All the credit goes to my staff,” Mr. Ramakrishnan said.
Special melas
He said that they were able to clear the backlog by holding special melas and complaint redressal sessions. Six melas were held last year at the Malappuram office.
First award for Malappuram office since it was formed in 2006
It issued 2.45 passports last year
