New Delhi: There are 39 posts lying vacant in the Passport Offices across the state of Gujarat, stated the Union Government in Rajya Sabha today during the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

In a reply to a question from a Member of Parliament, V. Muraleedharan, Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs, stated:

Due to shortage of officials across India in the Central Passport Organisation, there are 39 posts vacant in the state of Gujarat at different categories, the details of which are as follows: Group ‘A’ – 0, Group ‘B’ Gazetted – 21 and Group ‘B’ (non-gazetted) & Group ‘C’ – 18.

For filling up of vacant posts, since the recruitment is through the Staff Selection Commission, the vacancies will be filled up when the results are announced and subsequent appointment orders are issued. Meanwhile, Ministry has hired 23 Data Entry Operators and 02 Multi Tasking Staff for the Passport Offices of Gujarat for their smooth functioning.

To expedite the issuance and renewal of passports in Gujarat, Government has taken several measures including opening of Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras on Saturdays, creating camp PSKs additional passport processing counters at Passport Offices, releasing additional appointments daily, cross-granting practices and deployment of additional personnel. DeshGujarat