Now Pay passport fee online

Online payment system for taking appointments at Bhubaneswar regional Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) will be applicable from today.

Under the new process, payments can be made while booking an appointment on the website – www.passportindia.gov.in, either by credit/debit card or internet banking of the State Bank of India (SBI). Applicants can use the challan option provided on the website and deposit the money with SBI after generating a challan online.

Soon after the online payment, applicants will get information about the slot confirmation for their personal appearance at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) to submit the requisite documents.

“It was observed that large numbers of applicants did not turn up at the PSK despite valid appointment. This not only resulted in lesser utilization of processing capacity of the PSK, but also denied appointments to other genuine applicants. Now only genuine applicants will book the appointment and the number of no-show will come down,” regional passport officer Padma Mahanti said.

While applicants welcomed the initiative, they wonder if it would help them get passports quickly. “We still wait for months together to get passports. While applications keep pending at police stations for verification, passport office also delays deliver of passports even after completion of police verification,” said Alok Jena, a Plus II student.

PSK officials here passed the buck on police for the delay in delivery of passports. “We dispatch passports within a week after completion of police verification,” said a PSK officer. (Source – The Times of India)