The Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Ghaziabad has achieved a historic milestone, processing and issuing a record-breaking number of passports in the calendar year 2025. Official data reveals the office successfully issued 3,55,095 passports, marking the highest annual figure in its history and showcasing a significant leap in service delivery for residents of western Uttar Pradesh.
Breaking Down the Record Numbers
This remarkable achievement represents a substantial increase from the previous year's performance. In 2024, the Ghaziabad RPO had issued 3,23,286 passports. The jump to over 3.55 lakh in 2025 underscores a year of enhanced operational efficiency and outreach. The office holds jurisdiction over a vast area, serving applicants from 13 districts, including Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida), Meerut, Agra, Aligarh, Hathras, Bulandshahr, and others.
A senior official from the Ghaziabad RPO attributed this success to a series of targeted initiatives launched and intensified over the past year. "We expanded the reach of the Passport Mobile Van, which was first launched in September 2024," the official stated. "This allowed us to take passport services directly to remote and previously unserved locations." Alongside the mobile van, concerted efforts through Passport Melas (fairs), Passport Adalats (grievance redressal camps), and dedicated pendency reduction drives collectively contributed to the record output.
Initiatives That Drove Efficiency and Reduced Pendency
The focused campaigns had a direct impact on one of the most common pain points for applicants: pendency. Officials confirmed that the pendency rate in the region has seen a significant decline. The combination of special camps and the mobile service helped clear backlogs and streamline the application process for thousands.
The Ghaziabad Passport Office, located in Sahibabad, is a hub of daily activity. It witnesses a daily footfall of approximately 1,400 applicants under the general category and another 350 under the tatkal (expedited) scheme. The distribution across its covered districts varies, with major hubs like Meerut, Agra, Aligarh, and Noida seeing between 80 to 100 visitors daily, while other districts average around 50 applicants per day.
The Passport Application Journey and Timeline
For the average applicant, the process involves online application submission, followed by a visit to the passport office for document verification and biometric data collection. A critical subsequent step is police verification. Under normal circumstances, once the process is complete, applicants can expect to receive their passport within 10 to 25 days. Officials note that while this is the standard timeline, delays can occur if there are issues during police verification or if there is high pendency, which the recent drives have aimed to mitigate.
The record issuance from the Ghaziabad RPO is a clear indicator of both growing demand for passports in the region and the administration's efforts to modernize and expand citizen-centric services. By taking services to the doorstep through mobile vans and resolving bottlenecks via adalats, the office has set a new benchmark for passport administration in Uttar Pradesh.
