JOIN USThe long-standing demand for a Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) in the city may be fulfilled within six months, if everything goes as per the plan.
But the elected representatives, local civil organisations, officers and industrialists should jointly work towards this end, P S Karthigeyan, Regional Passport Officer-Karnataka, said here on Tuesday.
The Ministry of External Affairs has proposed to open 80 PSKs across the country, including one in Mysore.
Besides, the National Institute for Smart Governance (NISG) is coming up with a report on the need for PSKs in all parts of India, Karthigeyan told reporters. The proposal might be approved in September or October and “I hope even Mysore will get a PSK”, he added.
The officer noted that the city should get a PSK or at least a mini-PSK. He would recommend for a full-fledged PSK as it would cover Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Hassan districts as well.
“For this, the joint efforts of elected representatives of the region and other stakeholders are needed,” he said.
The need for a PSK should be projected and justified appropriately so that the proposal does not fall flat. Once the project is approved, he would work out the modalities, he added.
But for the time being, the citizens of Mysore would have to contend with a passport mela that would be held soon, Karthigeyan said and justified the mandatory online payment for passport application, saying it was aimed at making the procedure transparent.
At present, the State Bank of India and its associate banks had been identified for the payment option for security purposes and the facility might be extended to other banks after the pros and cons were evaluated, he explained.