Out of the approximately 100,000 passports distributed monthly, the department now has only 173,000 copies left. Meanwhile, the new supplier, a German company, has stated that it will provide passports only from 11 Falgun.
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The Passport Department has cut passport distribution by one-third as its stockpiles are running low. The department, district administration, area administration and foreign missions used to distribute 5,000-6,000 passports a day, but since Tuesday, less than 2,000 copies have been distributed.
The department has said that the number of passport distributions has been reduced to balance the demand of service recipients as the passport booklet is becoming limited. The department has set a quota of distributing one thousand passports per day from Tuesday. The department had opened ‘appointment slots’ of only one thousand per day from Monday evening. Only 700 passports were issued by the district administration, area administration and foreign missions on Tuesday.
According to the department’s information officer Keshav Raj Panthi, the department now has 173,000 passports left. As per the agreement the department made with the new supplier in last Shrawan for the purchase of passports, the supply will only be from 11 Falgun. ‘If distributed according to demand, it will last only for one to one and a half months. That is why the quota for passport distribution has been reduced,’ Panthi said. He also urged people to apply for passports only in cases of emergency until further notice.
The department had invited international bids on 13 Mangsir last year for the purchase of 6.4 million blank e-passport booklets for a period of 5 years. Separate bids were opened for the passport system including passport pre-registration, registration, data management and distribution as 'Package 1' and the passport booklet including personalization, quality control and packing as 'Package 2'.
German company Muebbauer was selected for 'Package 1' and German Veridos for 'Package 2'. The department has stated that a new infrastructure and system is being built so that passports can be supplied from Falgun as per the purchase agreement signed in Shrawan last year. The government started distributing e-passport in Mangsir 2079. Since then, the department has purchased 5.1 million e-passport booklets.
Earlier, French company IDEMIA had supplied passports. IDEMIA was a competitor in the tender process this time too. The department has stated that the transitional situation has arisen due to the ‘handover’ and ‘takeover’ between the current supplier and the new supplier.
Passport distribution has been affected since protesters vandalized the department and 14 district administration offices on 24 Bhadra. According to the department, equipment used in the passport process, including cameras, was stolen. ‘Process machines’ were also destroyed in some districts.
The department is also looking for alternatives to avoid shortages until passports start arriving from the new supplier. In the first option, discussions are underway with the old company IDEMIA to purchase additional passports, but the department has stated that it has not been possible to agree on the price. Since 60,000 passports supplied by IDEMIA earlier were damaged, the department has asked to provide that number of passports.
In the proposal made for additional supply, IDEMIA has offered US$15.51 per passport. The department has not accepted it, saying that it is expensive. IDEMIA had previously supplied passports at $10.13 per passport. According to the new purchase agreement with the German company, the price of one passport will be $8.61. The department is trying to purchase 300,000 passports to avoid a shortage of passports in the meantime.
Director General of the department Tirtharaj Aryal said that they are looking at all possible options to avoid a shortage of passports. ‘The first attempt is to organize the distribution. The department has urged only those who are essential to apply for passports,’ he said. ‘We are also in discussions to purchase the insufficient number of passports from the old supplier or whoever can supply them in the market. We are also urging the new supplier to provide passports before the agreed date.’ He said that if these options are not successful, discussions are underway to prevent a shortage of passports by supplying MRP (Machine Readable Passport).
Prime Minister Sushila Karki, who also holds the responsibility of the Foreign Minister, has also taken the initiative to prevent a shortage of passports. In a meeting with German Ambassador to Nepal Udo Volz last Thursday, she urged him to take the initiative for the speedy supply of passports. Prime Minister Karki urged the ambassador since the responsibility of printing passports has been given to a German company. "The Prime Minister has urged the ambassador to take the initiative for printing passports before the date of the agreement," said an official from the Prime Minister's Secretariat.
Prime Minister Karki sought information from officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Passport Department on Tuesday about the status of passport distribution. She called the officials of the Ministry and the Department to the Prime Minister's Office in Singha Durbar and sought information. She has also instructed officials including Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amrit Bahadur Rai and Director General of the Passport Department Aryal to work so that there is no problem with the passports.
