The Regional Passport Office (RPO) Hyderabad has bagged the top spot issuing 6.95 lakh passports in 2014 – the highest number in the country, which is 13 per cent growth over the previous year.
The Regional Passport Officer Hyderabad, Ashwini Sattaru, said at a press conference that they received 7.17 lakh applications of which 6.95 lakh were issued. Last year, the RPO issued 6.32 lakh passports of the 6.56 lakh applications it received.
The record issuance is attributed to fast disposal of police verification that has cut down the time due to its innovative methods adopted for police clearance of applications. The innovative methods introduced by Police Commissioner M. Mahender Reddy are recognised by the RPOs in other parts of the country and they are requesting the local police to introduce the same.
Hyderabad police is taking 21 days for clearing the applications while Cyberabad police is taking 13 days followed by Adilabad nine days, Mahabubnagar and Medak eight days each and Krishna district six days. Hyderabad is taking more time due to the huge number of applications submitted from the city.
She said that very soon Ananatapur, Chittoor, YSR Kadapa, Kurnool, Nellore, Vijayawada, Guntur and Prakasham districts would be transferred to the Passport Office in Vishakapatnam due to State bifurcation. It already deals with North Coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. However, the dates of transfer would be announced in advance.
Ms. Sattaru said that from November 24 all the hand-written and non-machine readable passports would become invalid. All passport holders who have been issued handwritten passports with 20 year validity and those who have non-machine readable passports should renew their passports. The universal practice now in vogue is taking a new passport once it crosses the nine-year mark.
Exhaustion of visa pages
Passport holders should realise that some countries don’t accept passports that have fewer than two visa pages remaining, she said adding that all passport holders should check for the same and apply for re-issue. There is no provision for additional booklets or pages. Frequent travellers can apply for jumbo booklet with 60 pages.
She also asked the Haj Pilgrims of 2015 to apply for passports well in advance to avoid last-minute rush and tension. The RPO will ensure smooth facilitation at PSKs and early issuance. Deputy Passport Officer L. Madan Mohan Reddy was also present.
