Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 30: Desp-ite abnormal situation, irregular internet facility and dislocation of traffic during 2016, around 58500 Passports services were rendered during this year i.e. 250 per day and around 55700 number of applications were processed.
Making all efforts to compensate for the loss of processing days, Passport Camps/Melas were conducted on off days. Three Passport Melas and six Passport Camps were organized during the year besides nine Passport Adalats were held to review the pending/objection – related cases. Off-station Passport camps were held at Sopore, Manigam Ganderbal. Holding of camps at other locations in the Valley, however, did not materialize during the year and would be held in the year 2017.
Passport Camps were also held at Leh and Kargil catering to the needs of residents of far-off areas. Passport Office has had been taking extra measures to facilitate maximum numbers of Haj aspirants which is corroborated by the number of applicants from Kashmir zone having submitted applications for Haj 2016. 30404 applications were submitted before Haj Committee.
Despite odds, Passport Office Srinagar in coordination with concerned departments, ensured hassle-free crossing at Line of Control (LoC) during the year. Crossing at LoC is allowed against a permit as a Confidence Building Measure (CBM).
During the year, numbers of measures were taken for simplification of application processing which include:- accepting of self attested copies of requisite documents, waiver from production of original certificates for students against certificates from the educational institutions where the original documents have been retained, acceptance of verification certificates for Tatkal without any jurisdiction of verifying certificates issuing authorities, exemption to orphan/abandoned children born after 26/01/1989 from the mandatory requirements of submission of birth certificate, acceptance of registered rent agreements as a valid document for the proof of address in respect of tenants, acceptance of Photo Passbooks of all the Banks (authorized by RBI) as proof of residence, furnishing of prior information letter (Annexure N) in place of NOC/Identity Certificate in respect of Govt. Employees, non requirement of newspaper clipping in cases of simple correction in names, relaxation in processing of applications of minors, acceptance of e-Aadhar as proof of address & Proof of photo identity, acceptance of educational documents/ certificates issued by the Urdu Education Board as the valid documents particularly for Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) facility and Date of Birth proof,
acceptance of digitally signed marriage certificates as the proof of marriage for passports and Citizen Charter.
Passport Office also implemented recent simplification measures from 26/12/2016. This has eased the passport application processing particularly with regard to Date of Birth and furnishing of affidavits.
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