Ghaziabad, Jan. 9 -- The regional passport office in Ghaziabad issued a total of 355,094 passports in 2025, the highest since it started in June 1997, said officials. According to the official figures, the passport office issued a total of 355,094; 323,286; and 319,676 passports in the years 2025, 2024, and 2023 respectively. The statistics also indicate that police clearance certificates, required by several countries, were also issued to the tune of 11,308; 12,763; and 14,862 in 2025, 2024, and 2023 respectively, said officials. The data shows the passport office at Ghaziabad issued 288,039 passports during the pre-Covid year of 2019, while the figures dropped to 109,009 during the peak Covid year of 2020. The figures further improved in post-Covid years. "We issued the highest number of passports in 2025 and took up various initiatives to reduce pendency," said Anuj Swarup, regional passport officer. Officials said that the passport office has already established a dedicated grievance redressal cell for customer support, while walk-in service has been made more effective. Passport Lok Adalats were organised in November and December, 2025, and the regional passport officer interacted with the applicants for redressal of their files, said officials. The regional passport office in Ghaziabad caters to applicants from Agra, Aligarh, Baghpat, Bulandshahar, Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hathras, Mathura, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Hapur, Shamli and Saharanpur....