Newz Desk, Durgapur: Passport verification in the city is set for a major overhaul, with the Security Control Organisation scheduled to take over the responsibility from police stations from October 1.
According to a directive issued by Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda on Friday, police stations will no longer be directly responsible for handling passport verification for new applications. The move comes amid concerns over delays and complaints regarding the verification process.
Police had already tightened scrutiny of passport applications following several cases involving alleged fake passports. However, complaints were reportedly received against some police stations over alleged irregularities and non-compliance with prescribed procedures. Under the new directions, all pending passport verification cases at police stations must be disposed of on a priority basis. Officers-in-charge of the respective police stations have been instructed to ensure that no verification case remains pending. Divisional Deputy Commissioners have also been asked to regularly monitor the progress of pending cases.
The commissioner has further directed that any matter requiring intervention should immediately be brought to the notice of the Additional Commissioner of Police. As part of the monitoring mechanism, every police station has been asked to submit a weekly report detailing the number of passport verification cases pending as of September 30, the number disposed of during the week and the number remaining at the end of each week.
The reporting system will continue every week until November. Senior officers at Lalbazar and the Deputy Commissioner of Security Control have been tasked with supervising the process.
The move is expected to bring greater centralised monitoring to passport verification and address concerns over pending cases and procedural lapses.
