(a)whether the Government had denied permission regarding holding of the biennial All India Conference of Passport Employees Association, which was scheduled to be held at Chennai on the 26th and 27th February 2005; and
(b) if so, the reasons therefor?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI E. AHAMED)
(a) & (b) the Ministry did not deny permission to the All India Passport Employees Association (AIPEA) to hold their biennial Conference on 26th and 27th February, 2005.
During February-April 2005, in several Passport Offices, the number of pending applications had increased substantially, thereby causing hardship to the applicants. Keeping in view the public interest, the Ministry took the initiative to launch a special pendency clearance drive in several Passport Offices. To ensure success of the clearance drive, it was decided for a brief period during the pendency clearance drive that no employee at any level would be granted leave. As per the information available with the Ministry, the All India Passport Employees Association (AIPEA), on their own, decided to postpone their Conference to a later date.