The New Nation - Internet Edition

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

The simplification of passport issuance procedure through establishing 'help desk' across the country has not progressed despite release of an official order in September last year.

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a gazette notification last year for appointment of agents for handling passport related work under 'Passport Agent (licensing) Rules, 2007.'

The move was intended to ease licence issuance procedure and take the service to the doorsteps of the people, said the officials.

However, the Government, in the meantime, has taken some measures to expand the service through seven post offices and four branches of private sector Trust Bank.

The number of passport seekers doubled this year. So, it is now imperative to decentralise the system to ease pressure on the head office, said officials of the Passport office.

In 2006, the government earned Tk 4.0 billion in revenue through issuance of around 1.3 million passports, while around 2.2 million passports were issued in 2007 that fetched Tk 7.0 billion.

"The government had taken the move to appoint agents to help innocent and less educated people fill up passport forms following all procedures," said an official.

The agents will help the passport seekers to follow all the instructions for obtaining passports, he said.

Once the system was implemented, harassment by middlemen, known as 'dalal,' will be reduced significantly, he added.

The agents will be responsible for issuance of passports, and if the authorities find irregularities or detect any fake passport the agents will face penalties and have their licences cancelled.

Recently, a large number of the workers and labourers applied for passports to go abroad for work.The workers usually face problems while filling up passport application forms.

They have to seek help of middlemen on payment of high charges.

According to the rules, a five-member committee will select the agents. An agent should have minimum graduation degree. An income tax payer over the past three years, the agent should possess a legal trade licence.

The agents should have infrastructure and logistic facilities and skilled manpower to handle the passport related work.

Currently, four Trust Bank corporate branches at Dilkusha, Dhanmondi, Uttara and Gulshan have been receiving passport applications covering the 14 police stations of Dhaka city area only under six months' 'Pilot Project for Receiving Applications from the Applicant of Passports' since October last year.

Considering the satisfactory performance in receiving applications and delivery of passports and upon recommendation of the Department of Immigration and Passports, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued permission to 13 other branches of the bank to provide the service.