PSK under CBI scanner

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, May 14, 2012: Amidst growing complaints from many quarters over alleged irregularities at the privately run passport seva kendra (PSK), CBI officials have swung into action and are trying to nail the culprits. They conducted surprise checks on the PSK located near Madhavadhara in the city on Friday.

Based on the checks, the CBI's anti-corruption wing here is preparing a detailed report to be sent to the chief passport officer and the chief vigilance commissioner in Delhi. The Passport Seva Kendra (PSK), a union government's e-governance initiative, was opened last year at the RPO in the city.

“We came to know that the PSK staff were rejecting applications, giving silly and petty reasons. When the same application was sent through an agent, it was being obliged and honoured,” said a top official of the CBI. In one such case, an application was rejected as the authorised signature on one of the attachments — a date of birth (DOB) certificate — was put a little below the specified spot on the certificate. CBI officials conducting the checks at the PSK found that several applications with DOBs with the same signature issue were accepted and passports issued subsequently.

The CBI suspects that there is a nexus between the staff at the PSK, private agents and some officials of the Regional Passport Office, who are operating and making quick money.

The official said that since the PSK was run by private operators, the CBI could not take any action against them. An agent charges around Rs.15,000 to Rs.20,000 to get the application processed for an assured passport delivery. There are more than 40 such agents working for the PSK.

The checks were conducted in the presence of regional passport officer V.D.S.L. Surendra. The RPO here serves the needs of five coastal districts in the state. The passport office here issued 77,000 passports during 2010, and 80,000 in 2011.