Govt to open 82 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras in second phase

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) and the Department of Posts (DoP) have decided to utilise the head post offices and some other major post offices in the country as Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) for delivery of passport related services to citizens.

The partnership is expected to extend passport related services on a larger scale and ensure wider area coverage.

In the first phase, it has been decided to open 86 POPSK in the country. Of this, 52 POPSK have already become functional. MEA and DoP are working closely for the operationalisation of passport related services at the remaining 34 POPSK in the first phase.

Following the successful functioning of these POPSK and the positive response received from the people, MEA and DoP have now decided to open another 149 POPSK at the following places to take the total number of POPSK to 235 in the country.

These include: Andhra Pradesh - Anantpur, Chitoor, Guntur, Krishna, Ongole, Rajamundry and Srikakulam; Arunachal Pradesh - Changlang and Tirap; Assam - Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Karbi Anglong, Kokrajhar, Mangaldoi, North Lakhim Pur, Sonitpur and Tinsukia; Bihar - Begusarai, Buxar, East Champaran, Gaya, Madhubani, Samastipur, Supaul, Munger and Navada; Gujarat - Durg and Rajnandgaon in Chattisgarh; Anand, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagarh, Kheda, Navsari and Valsad; Haryana - Bhiwani, Kaithal, Narnaul, Panipat, Rohtak, Sonipat and Yamunanagar; Himachal Pradesh - Kangra, Mandi and Una; J&K - Anantnag, Baramula and Kathua; Jharkhand - Bokaro, Hazaribagh and Medininagar; Karnataka - Bellary, Bidar, Raichur, Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Udipi and Vijayapur; Kerala - Chengannur and Idukki; Madhya Pradesh - Balaghat, Chhindwara, Dewas, Hoshangabad, Sehore, Sidhi, Ujjain, Betul and Shivni; Maharashtra - Ahmednagar, Jalna, Latur, Pandharpur, Sangli, Sindhudurg, Wardha, Navi Mumbai, Dombivali, Panvel and Nanded in; Odisha - Baghmara and Tura in Meghalaya; Balasore, Berhampur and Bhawanipatna; Punjab - Moga, Sangrur, Tarn Taran, SBS Nagar (Nawan Shahar) and Phagwara; Puducherry - Karaikal; Rajasthan - Ajmer, Churu, Dungarpur, Hanumangarh, Karauli-Dhaulpur, Nagaur, Sriganganagar, Alwar, Chittorgarh, Banswara and Pali; Tamil Nadu - Cuddalore, Dindigul, Namakkal, Perambalur, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tiruppur, Viluppuram, Virudhunagar and Kanyakumari (N); Telangana - Adilabad, Medak, Khammam, Siddipet and Nalgonda in; Uttarakhand - Pauri, Roorkee and Rudrapur; Uttar Pradesh - Aligarh, Amethi, Azamgarh, Bahraich, Ballia, Balrampur, Barabanki, Basti, Gonda, Jaunpur, Kushinagar, Mau, Sitapur, Muradabad, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Rampur, Saharanpur and Unnao; West Bengal  Bardhman, Barrackpore, Darjeeling and Malda and; Delhi - Krishna Nagar, Lodhi Road and Saket.

The external affairs ministry has opened 14 Passport Seva Laghu Kendras (PSLK) after May 2014, including in all the North Eastern states. Two more PSLK at Siliguri in West Bengal and at Sholapur in Maharashtra are scheduled to be inaugurated shortly to take the total number of Passport Seva Kendras in the country to 93. With the addition of 235 POPSK, the total number of new Passport Seva Kendras including POPSKs, would be 251.