(a) whether the Government proposes to open a sub-Regional Passport Office at Nagercoil to mitigate the hardships of large number of applicants;
(b) if so, whether the Government also proposes to open any RPOs in Tamilnadu or to upgrade the existing passport cell at the District Collectorate;
(c) if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether delay has been noticed in the issuance of passports by the RPO at Tiruchirapalli; and
(e) if so, the steps proposed to be taken in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI E. AHAMED)
(a) No Sir.
(b) & (c) There is a demand to open a Passport Office in Tamil Nadu. At present, there are Passport Offices in Chennai and Tiruchirapalli. The Government is studying the proposal for one more Passport Office in Tamil Nadu. However, the existing District Passport Cells cannot be upgraded to Passport Offices.
(d) & (e) There is presently some delay in issuance of passports by the RPO, Tiruchirapalli mainly due to a technical problem concerning the passport printers. Steps are being taken to overcome this problem at the earliest.