Question : Facilities in Postal Passport Seva Kendras

(a) whether the Government has noticed that people are facing a lot of problems in applying for a passport through Kasargod Passport Seva Kendra due to lack of facilities in Postal Passport Seva Kendras there;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the response of the Government thereto;

(c) whether the Government has any proposal to engage private service providers to operate Postal Seva Kendras and if so, the details thereof;

(d) the area of land and facilities available with the postal department in Kasaragod district for this purpose;

(e) the number of passport applications received during the current year till date at Payyanur Passport Seva Kendra in Kannur district, Kasaragod district and Kasaragod Postal Passport Seva Kendra; and

(f) whether the Government has any plans to open a new Passport Seva Kendra in Kasargod for applicants from Northern Kerala and if so, the details thereof?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]

(a) Regional Passport Office Kozhikode, under which Kasaragod Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) operates, has not received any complaint of lack of facilities and problems faced in submitting passport applications there.

(b) Does not arise.

(c) Post Office Passport Seva Kendras are operated by Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with Department of Posts.

(d) An area of 600 sq.ft. has been earmarked for Post Office Passport Seva Kendra, within the Head Post building at Kasaragod.

(e) The following number of passport applications have been received at the respective locations during the current year, till date :

Passport Seva Kendra, Payyanur – 41,005
Post Office Passport Seva Kendra, Kasaragod – 6,773

(f) Opening of Passport Seva Kendras in the country is an ongoing activity and depends on various factors including distance from the Passport Kendras and volume of applications from a particular region.

***