The regional passport office in Calcutta has issued letters to 2,400 people who had applied for passports through post offices but whose files have yet to be processed to appear before the RPO on specific dates in June.

Till the beginning of May, over 20,000 passport applications routed through post offices between 2021 and June 2023 were pending for want of proper documents or clarifications.

Earlier, the Calcutta passport office had summoned 2,400 applicants. Of them, the applications of more than 1,300 candidates were processed and the remaining files were closed.

Passport officials said summons have been sent to another 2,400 applicants whose files are pending.

According to passport officials, the backlog till September 2023 has been cleared.

“The applications which we are dealing with now are from October 2023 onwards,” said a passport official.

The Calcutta RPO had initiated the drive on May 1 by summoning 800 applicants who had applied through post office Passport Seva Kendras (PoPSKs).

Bengal has 40 PoPSKs, including two in Calcutta (Beadon Street and Regent Park post offices).

In the PoPSK service, the applications are transferred manually from most of the post offices to the passport office, which sometimes takes weeks. At other Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs), the applications are transferred online to the respective police districts for verification within minutes of the interview.

Only some PoPSKs have online facilities.

Bengal has only three PSKs — in Calcutta (Kasba), Siliguri and Behrampore.

On May 1, only 100 out of the 800 people who had been called to the regional passport office in Calcutta, in the first phase, had turned up. The remaining 700 files were closed.

Regional passport officer, Calcutta, Ashish Middha said the turnout in the next two phases of the drive — on May 21 and 28 — was more than
50 per cent.

Middha said: “We are making an appeal to all the applicants who have received the letter to turn up at the regional passport office on the
dates which are mentioned in their respective letters. They have to appear with all documents so their pending applications can be granted subject to the submission of adequate documents and the process can be completed from
our end.”

Officials in the Calcutta RPO said the applicants have been asked to appear on June 6, 11, 13, 18, 20 and 25.

The files of the applicants who would neither request a fresh date citing a valid reason nor turn up at the RPO on the specified dates will be closed permanently, officials said.

Such applicants can apply afresh, the officials said.