Recently I had the 'good fortune' of having to deal with the Regional Passport Office, Mumbai (RPO). My aunt's passport was about to expire and hence we needed to get a new one. This should have been a straight-forward transaction. However, what transpired was anything but a simple and straight-forward transaction.
To start with, there were a few logistical complications. My aunt stays with us, but has address proofs of the house that she has lived in, most of her life. She no longer lives in that house as it has not been 'lived in' for a long time and hence is in a state of disrepair. Hence the requirement was to apply and receive a new passport but not at the house for which she has the address proofs for, and in quick time. I was advised that this would need the services of a tried and tested agent.
The process was kicked off by contacting the agent and explaining the exact requirements of the transaction to him. To my pleasant surprise, I was assured that it would not be a problem. The agent would arrange to get the new passport made within a week through the Tatkal process and would tell us the exact day on which the passport would arrive at the house so that my aunt could be present there to collect it. All for a small fee, of course! I was to send him a copy of the old passport and he would arrange for the appointment. On the day of the appointment, I accompanied my aunt with the documentation (old passport and the address proofs of the old house) early in the morning. A long serpentine queue outside the RPO confirmed my worst fears of a long day at this dreaded place. My previous experience with the RPO (in Chennai) wasn't a pleasant one either. However, the agent quickly arranged the documentation. He then proceeded to note a code on one of the papers, and directed us to a man at the main gate who knew we were coming by the time we got there. He looked at the code and asked us to take our place in front of the long queue! My aunt being a senior citizen, of course! I was duly impressed.
I have never been to the RPO, Mumbai, but as soon as we entered the main hall, where the various counters were there, it struck me that the organisation is not as bad as it is made out to be after all. The place is air-conditioned, with neat counters and seating arrangements. My impression of this dreaded institution was getting better by the minute. Of course, being second in the queue (another senior citizen in front of us) added to the comfort factor. I however, noticed that some of the others who perhaps did not have the blessings of the 'helpful code', were being treated with the same old disdainful attitude of the staff. Some were welcomed with scornful faces and some others got scolded for small corrections to the documentation that they were carrying. But for us, the process was quick, the documents verified in no time, the fees paid and we were out of the place in 30 minutes flat!
Part two of the transaction was to receive the passport on the appointed day at the old house. An added complication to this was that my aunt did not think it was a good day to receive the passport and wanted to do that only two days later! The trick was to get in touch with our friendly neighbourhood postman and request him to hold on to the arriving passport for a couple of days (for a small fee, of course!). The passport was collected from the post office on Friday instead of Wednesday. Lo and behold! My aunt was now a proud owner of a brand new passport, in spite of all the logistical challenges! The whole process took precisely 7 working days!
The whole sequence of events got me thinking (which is never a good thing in my case!). It was evident that though some of these government institutions like the RPO look to be a changed organisation in their outward appearance, the soul (read, people who work there) is still the same old bureaucratic one. A service oriented approach to the functioning of these institutions is non-existent. In fact, it seems to me that the staff at these institutions actually leverage the 'fear factor' of dealing with a notoriously bureaucratic government institution to manufacture privileges and dole them out for a premium. The 'system' still rules! And 'working the system' is the only way still, to ensure success.
This needs to change. We will be a truly free country only when this change happens. And that is when we will all get our own passport to.....freedom!
Take care.
