Kolkata’s passport verification backlog has risen to nearly 42,000 applications, prompting a proposal to transfer the entire verification process from police station passport officers to the Security Control Organisation (SCO), according to a report by Anandabazar – Kolkata.
The proposal has been sent to Lalbazar, the headquarters of Kolkata Police, and some police officials expect the SCO to take over the responsibility from next month. The plan, however, remains a proposal and has not been described as a final decision in the report.
At present, each police station has a designated passport officer. These officers verify documents submitted with applications for new passports and renewals, and also visit applicants’ homes to examine the information provided. The process includes sending copies of documents to the authorities that issued them for verification.
A police officer cited in the report said passport officers must carry out this work alongside law-and-order duties and criminal investigations. The competing responsibilities, the officer said, prevent them from giving their full attention to passport-related work and contribute to delays.
The proposed arrangement would place document verification and related passport responsibilities entirely with SCO officers. The proposal also calls for additional officers to be appointed for the work, with the aim of creating a dedicated team that can process applications more consistently.
The backlog has grown after Kolkata Police introduced stricter verification measures for new passport applications and renewals. The measures followed the discovery, around two years ago, of a suspected network that allegedly used forged documents and false information to obtain Indian passports for Bangladeshi citizens travelling abroad. Kolkata Police arrested 10 people in that investigation, including a former Kolkata Police employee involved in passport verification and two workers at a city post office, according to the report.
Following that case, police instructed that copies of documents submitted with passport applications should be sent to the relevant issuing authorities for verification. Officers were also required to visit applicants’ homes, take photographs directly and upload the information. Passport officials cited in the report said these additional checks increased the time taken to complete applications.
The proposed return of the process to the SCO would reverse the current distribution of responsibilities. About a decade ago, SCO officers handled passport application verification in areas under Kolkata Police. The proposal seeks to restore that arrangement while adding personnel to deal with the present workload.
For applicants, the proposed change could affect how quickly pending and future applications are processed, but the report does not provide a confirmed implementation date, staffing number or revised service timeline. The next formal step is a decision by Lalbazar on whether to approve the transfer and sanction additional officers.
