Public Security Minister Tiran Alles yesterday said in the future facilities will be made for the public to get their Passports, National Identity Card (NIC) and all other documents related to births, marriages and deaths under one roof.
He said an office which can facilitate all the above will be established at the ‘Suhurupaya’ building. Minister Alles said a branch of the Registrar General’s Department will also be established at the Battaramulla ‘Suhurupaya’ building. He said this will be done during the next two months and will enable the public to get a better and hassle free service. The Minister was speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Public Security.
The Minister also said that he has ordered strict action against malpractices involving the issuance of passports.
“One of the problems we had was brokers taking money like 20,000 rupees or 25,000 rupees, while promising new passports for applicants without delays and hassles such as waiting a long time in queues. We made a decision and deployed our intelligence department and arrested about 16 people last Friday.
Even earlier we arrested people in connection with such incidents,” he said. The Minister also said facilities for fingerprinting and taking photos for passports will be made available at 50 Divisional Secretariats in the future and this will speed up the process and people will not have to travel long distances for such matters.