Passport on the go: Ghaziabad rolls out mobile vans to ease application process

To expedite the passport application process and ease the burden on the Ghaziabad Passport Seva Centre, a mobile van equipped with biometric machines and a three-member staff has been launched. This initiative will cover 13 districts under the centre’s jurisdiction, including high-traffic areas such as Meerut, Noida, Aligarh, and Agra, where increased demand has led to delays.

The regional passport officer for Ghaziabad, Anuj Swarup, told TOI, "We’ve introduced the Passport Mobile Van, which will visit districts with high pendency, allowing applicants to complete their verification process locally." The move is expected to significantly reduce congestion at the main centre, which sees about 1,400 daily footfalls, while smaller satellite districts record 50-100 applications daily.

The mobile vans will operate as fully functional passport seva kendras (PSKs), equipped with necessary tools like printers, computers, scanners, and loudspeakers. This approach is designed to bring passport services directly to applicants' doorsteps, thereby reducing delays and helping clear the existing backlog.


"We have passport seva kendras in Sahibabad and post office passport seva kendras (POPSK) in all 13 districts. In Meerut, we see around 80 daily applications, which sometimes rise to over 100, creating delays. With the mobile van initiative, we aim to offer service delivery at your doorstep," Swarup added.

The passport process involves document submission and verification, including police verification. Delays can occur due to application mismatches or incomplete forms, and Swarup urged applicants to carefully fill in details such as names and birth dates to avoid further processing delays. Any issues requiring corrections will still necessitate a visit to the main office in Ghaziabad.

By reaching districts with high demand, the Passport Mobile Van service is expected to streamline operations and reduce the overall processing time, which typically ranges from 10 to 25 days. This step aims to address the growing demand for passports in the region, where key districts like Meerut, Agra, Aligarh, and Noida consistently experience high daily footfalls.