Srinagar:: No passport will be issued to any Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory (UT) employee without the clearance from Vigilance, officials said on Thursday.
They said the UT government has made vigilance clearance mandatory for its employees applying for the passports, an order issued today said.
Earlier, all citizens, including government employees, were being issued passport on the basis of verification certificate issued by Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
However, this 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, they said.
The order said that currently, a Government employee is only required to inform his employer for applying for passport on Annexure-H,” .
The order issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) said the guidelines for obtaining passport have been reviewed by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India (Go1) 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. As per the order, elaborate instructions have been issued for obtaining fresh vigilance clearance while considering grant of passport to Government employees.
The J&K Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has also brought into the notice of the government 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 there are cases pending with vigilance. Thus, there is an urgent necessity to instruct all the departments to issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) for issuance of passport on the basis of vigilance clearance only.
Accordingly, it is impressed upon all the Administrative Departments and Heads of Departments (HoDs) to mandatorily obtain the latest vigilance clearance in respect of an employee applying for obtaining passport in term of Office Memorandum dated February 2020 issued by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) GOI strictly.
UNI
