"We have approached a section of private cellular operators to provide us the SMS network to alert applicants on their present status of passport,'' V K Choubey, the newly-appointed regional passport officer, told TOI on Monday 06.07.2009.

"We will try to provide passports to the applicants as early as possible. We will also ensure that there are absolutely no procedural hurdles in the entire process,'' Choubey said.

In several cases, the passports were delivered late due to the delay in receiving information on objections from the applicants. "If we need more information, we used to send a letter to the applicant and wait for his reply. By and large, it took a week to get the necessary information from the applicant. Now, we have decided to send an SMS to the applicant on the additional information required by the office. Simultaneously, we will inform him as to whom he should call back or contact in the RPO,'' Choubey said.

Sometimes passports were not delivered as the applicant was not at home. "In such cases, after several attempts, if the addressee is not found, the passport is returned to the RPO. Now, we will alert the applicant by SMS on the day the passport is despatched,'' Choubey said.

On the delay in processing the application form even after receipt of the police verification report, Choubey said, "Our staff has been asked to ensure that once the police verification report is received, the passport must be despatched within a week.''

Source: TNN