Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir government employees seeking issuance of passport will now be required to get vigilance clearance as the General Administration Department has impressed upon all the heads of the administrative departments to “mandatorily obtain the latest vigilance clearance’’ in respect of an employee applying for a passport.
The passport to the citizens including government employees is issued on the basis of verification carried out by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said a circular issued by J&K Government’s General Administration Department here on Thursday. However, “the current system does not contain any mechanism as would help denying the passport to such employees who are either under suspension, or facing departmental inquiry, or prosecution on account of serious charges, it pointed out, adding that currently, a government employee is only required to inform his employer for applying for passport on Annexure-H.
The guidelines for obtaining passport have been reviewed by the Government of India’s Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel & Training, in consultation with the Central Vigilance Commission and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and vide Office Memorandum No. F. No. 11012/7/2017- Estt.A-111 dated February, 2020, elaborate instructions have been issued for obtaining fresh vigilance clearance while considering grant of passport to Government employees.
It further pointed out that the Anti Corruption Bureau, J&K has also brought into the notice of the Government that the present mechanism for issuance of passport to Government employees without obtaining requisite vigilance clearance results in the issuance of passport to those employees against whom vigilance cases are pending. “Thus, there is an urgent necessity to instruct all the departments to issue the NOC for issuance of passport on the basis of vigilance clearance only,’’ it added.