New Delhi: Long queues, touts, tedious police verification and the cumbersome process of getting a passport is all set to be the thing of the past, as the Ministry of External Affairs is planning to set up passport offices with cutting edge technology in Delhi and Gurgaon by July 18.
The new passport offices will be established at Shalimar Place in Pitampura, West Delhi and in Udyog Vihar, Gurgaon.
The offices will be air conditioned, have facilities like online scheduling of appointments, extended hours of accepting passport applications from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., end-to-end online
tracking system, amenities for a special category of applicants such as disabled persons, applicants with infants and senior citizens.
The new passport centers will have a paperless environment and would be connected with the state police headquarters for a seamless verification process.
The Ministry of External Affairs is also setting up a similar passport office at ITO.
The 16,000 square-foot Herald building has been taken over for this purpose. It will have 32 counters for accepting applications.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will inaugurate the new offices in Delhi and Gurgaon.
To streamline passport services , 77 passport Sewa Kendras are being rolled out across the country.
It is expected that with the opening up of new passport centers in Delhi and Gurgaon, the pressure that currently exists at the passport office in Bhikaji Cama Place will reduce considerably.
ANI
