Passport Office Chandigarh

The Chandigarh RPO (Regional Passport Office) was established in September 1969 and is one of the major Passport Seva Kendras in India. It issued 4.45 lakh passports to its applicants during 2016. It handles with the issuance of passports and other travel documents to the citizens living in 13 districts in Haryana state, 11 districts in Punjab state, and the Chandigarh Union Territory.

Historical Background Of The Chandigarh RPO

In 1979, on divergence from the Chandigarh RPO, an individual Passport Seva Kendra was established in Jalandhar. However, in 2008, the Amritsar passport office was carved out and since then, the Chandigarh Regional Passport Office has been providing its services to the increasing demand of the 3 states. Later in 1996, the National Informatics Centre computerized the Chandigarh RPO. Earlier, the building was rented but since 2004, it operates in its own building covering an area of 972.708 Sq. yds.

Hierarchical Structure Of The Organization

As of March 2017, the Chandigarh Passport Office has totally 82 employees working there, which includes 67 staffs and 15 officers against the sanctioned strength of about 127 employees, which includes 90 staffs and 37 officers.

The hierarchical structure of the employees working in Chandigarh office is divided into different stages, which are as follows:

• Regional Passport Officer (RPO)
• Deputy Passport Officer (DPO)
• Assistant Passport Officer (APO)
• Senior Superintendent (SS)
• Superintendent
• Assistant Superintendent (AS)
• Senior Passport Assistant (SPA)
• Junior Passport Assistant (JPA)
• Stenographer/Steno
• Chauffeur
• Office Assistant (OA)

Jurisdiction

As said earlier, the Chandigarh PSK serves different regions, which are:

Functions And Responsibilities Of The Chandigarh PSK

• Issuance of diplomatic passport
• Issuance of official passport
• India International Regular Passport Booklet
• India International Jumbo Passport Booklet
• Surrender Certificate
• PCC (Police Clearance Certificate)
• Apostle & Attestation of Certificate

The Regional Passport Officers are designated as the Office Heads and for better functioning, specific financial powers are given to them. The powers of other employee categories are mentioned clearly on the official website.

For correct decision-making and passport issuance, the Chandigarh PSK follows the guidelines that are indicated in the 2010 Passport Manual. The officers belonging to the superintendent level are designated as PIAs (Passport Issuing Authorities) and they take complete responsibility for issuing passports to the applicants. According to the Indian Passport Act, they cannot take a decision all alone. In fact, they take specific action/decision conjointly with Assistant Superintendent, Junior Passport Assistants, and Senior Passport Assistants.

Work Flow Of The Chandigarh Passport Office

All passport applications are processed at the Chandigarh office based on the date and time slots allotted while booking online. The locations of various passport offices are given below:

• Plot No: 50, Adarsh Lifestyle Mall, Industrial Area Phase II, Chandigarh
• Plot No: 2014 A, Chandigarh Road, Ambala City
• Akash deep Complex, Gyan Singh Rarewalla Market, Ludhiana
• POPSK at Head Post Office, Parijat Chowk, Hisar
• POPSK at Head Post Office, Kunjpura Road, Karnal
• POPSK at Head Post Office, Bhatinda

Other than processing and renewal of passports, applicants can also arrive at the above-mentioned offices with their ARN sheets for PCC (Police Clearance Certificate) issuance.

As soon as an applicant comes to the passport office, he/she is assisted with the following steps:

1. Counter A
• A TCS staff checks the passport application and verifies everything if they are legitimate.
• Once all the details are correct, the staff further verifies all the data and scans them.
• The applicant then pays a fee for which the staff gives a receipt.
• Once the above process completes, the applicant has to give his fingerprints and photograph.
2. Counter B
• The passport application is further verified by a Verifying Officer (appointed by the Indian government).
• If necessary, the verifying officer may ask for additional documents as a proof.
3. Counter C
• An officer (Superintendent/Senior Superintendent/Deputy Passport Officer-DPO) again grants and checks the index of the application for verification. If there is something wrong with the documents, the file will be kept on hold until they receive proper confirmation from the issuing authorities.
4. Police Verification Request

Once an applicant completes all the procedures at the three counters, the issuing authority sends a request for police verification to the respective district electronically.

5. Police Verification Receipt

Once the request has been sent, the police constables arrive at the mentioned address for confirming the details of the applicant. If this is successful, a notification is sent to the passport authorities electronically.

6. Passport Printing

The applicant’s file is then processed for printing, followed by lamination and signature of the PIAs on the passport.

7. Passport Delivery

Once the passport has been printed, it is then dispatched to the given address. In rare cases, the applicant might be asked to receive it from the office counter.

There might be cases, when Passport Issuing Authorities might find something suspicious with the application or if there is an administrative matter involved, a Dealing Assistant rechecks and submits the records to the Superintendent.

The Superintendent goes through the file carefully and submits further to the Passport Officer. In certain cases, the case might be referred to the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) and CPV (Consular, Passport, and Visa) division for a final approval.

Passport Rules And Passport Act

As far as the administrative part is concerned, the files and records of applicants are maintained relating to:

• Passport appointments
• Court-associated litigation files
• Water and electricity bills
• Procurement of furniture and stationery
• Service book and personal files of employees
• Circulars
• Maintaining confidential annual reports
• Continuing temporary posts

The Chandigarh passport office holds the following documents:

• India International Regular Passport Booklet
• Statements of committees, councils, boards, and a few other bodies

Officers And Other Employee Information

The budget allocated to every agency, indicating the details of plans, expenses, and reports on the proposed disbursements are as follows:

Note: No travel agent is allowed to submit an applicant’s passport application. The applicant himself/herself as to be present at the concerned passport office to submit the application and have other things processed.

Also, keep in mind that an applicant can meet an officer on all the working days from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. except Wednesdays.

Designations And Names Of Officers In Chandigarh PSK

1. First Appellate Authority

Sh. Sibash Kabiraj (RPO),

SCO 28-32, Sector 34 A,

Chandigarh 160022.

Contact Number: 0172-2624988, 2624987, 2624989

E-mail address: rpo.chandigarh.nic.in

2. Nodal Officer for Grievances

Sh. Munish Kapoor (DPO),

SCO 28-32, Sector 34 A,

Chandigarh 160022

Contact Number: 0172-2624988, 2624987, 2624989

E-mail address: rpo.chandigarh.nic.in

3. Central Public Information Officer

Munish Kapoor (DPO),

SCO 28-32, Sector 34 A,

Chandigarh 160022

Contact Number: 0172-2624988, 2624987, 2624989

E-mail address: rpo.chandigarh.nic.in

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