A year on, city cops yet to get tabs for passport verification

CHENNAI: It has been more than a year since it was proposed to provide 650 high-speed internet-enabled tablets to the city police to carry out passport verification, but it is yet to see the light of the day. Using the tablets, police can complete

passport verification

in three days against the minimum 25 days it takes now. Verification by handheld tabs is already in place in Hyderabad. Diplomatic hurdles and glitches were stated as the reasons behind the move not being introduced in Chennai.

The proposal was to issue the hand-held devices to police personnel involved in field level verification. Currently , the verification process begins with police downloading applications from the passport office and passport seva kendras.

Field level officers are given hard copies of the applications, which they carry to the applicants' residences to physically verify the details. They then resubmit the applications to the police commissioner's office. The verified applications are then uploaded on the passport office website.

If the new system comes into effect, field level officers can access the applications on the tab and update documents after verification on the spot. The police commissioner's office will then send the same to the passport office. All the tabs will have high speed internet connection. “In the new system, fieldlevel police personnel involved in the passport verification process can directly see the application on their tabs, and after finishing the verification, the application will be updated and the unit office sends the same to the passport office. The entire process takes three days' time,“ a top ministry of

external affairs

(

MEA

) official told TOI.

Last year, the city police personnel involved in the exercise received training in Bengaluru on using the tab. MEA is planning to make police verification a once in a life time procedure. Regional passport officer P K Ashok Babu was not available for comment on the delay.