Govt approves renaming of 25 places in past one year
New Delhi, Nov 11: The Centre has given consent to the renaming of at least 25 towns and villages across India in the past one year and among the pending proposals is one for the state of West Bengal, according to officials.
Allahabad and Faizabad are the latest additions to the growing list of places that have been renamed.
Several proposals, including the renaming of West Bengal as 'Bangla', are pending with the central government. The process is a long-drawn one with the involvement of multiple central ministries and departments.
The Union Home Ministry has given consent to the proposals of name change in 25 villages and towns in different parts of the country in last one year, a senior ministry official told PTI.
The proposals to change the names of Allahabad to Prayagraj and Faizabad to Ayodhya are yet to be received by the ministry from the Uttar Pradesh government, the official said.
Some of the approved name change proposals are: Rajahmundry as Rajamahendravaram in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh; Outer Wheeler as A P J Abdul Kalam Island, situated in Bhadrak district of Odisha; Arikkod as Areekode in Malappura district of Kerala; Pindari as Pandu-Pindara in Jind district of Haryana; and Samphur as Sanphure in Kiphire district of Nagaland.
Other renaming proposals approved by the ministry include Landgewadi to Narsinhagaon in Sangali district of Maharashtra; Garhi Sampla as Ch. Sir Chhotu Ram Nagar in Rohtak district of Haryana; Khatu Kalan village as Bari Khatu in Nagour district of Rajasthan; Mihgawan Chhakka and Mihgawan Tilia as Mihgawan Sarkar and Mihgawan Ghat respectively in Panna district of Madhya Pradesh and Shukratal Khadar as Sukhtirth Khadar and Shukratal Bangar as Sukhtirth Bangar in Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh.
However, a proposal to change the name of Kacharigaon to Phevima in Dimapur district of Nagaland was rejected by the home ministry recently, the official said.
The home ministry considers such proposals according to the existing guidelines in consultations with agencies concerned, another official said.
The home ministry gives its consent to the change of name of any place after taking no-objections from the Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts and Survey of India.
These organisations have to confirm that there is no such town or village in their records with a name similar to the proposed one.
The renaming of a state requires amendment of the Constitution with a simple majority in Parliament. For changing the name of a village or town, an executive order is needed.
The proposal to change the name of West Bengal to 'Bangla', as suggested by the state government, was recently forwarded by the home ministry to the Ministry of External Affairs for its opinion as the proposed name sounded similar to the name of neighbouring country Bangladesh, the official said.
On Thursday, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the state government was considering renaming Ahmedabad as Karnavati and the name change could be effected before next year's Lok Sabha elections.
BJP leader Raja Singh said on Thursday that the party would "aim" to rename Hyderabad and other cities in the state after the names of great people if it is elected to power in Telangana after the forthcoming assembly polls.
Last year, the Centre had approved the proposal to rename the iconic Mughalsarai railway station to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) station after the Jan Sangh leader who was found dead in the railway station in 1968.
Approval was also given to add the word "Maharaj" in Mumbai's iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. It is now known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
The name of any state was changed last time in 2011, when Orissa became Odisha. Names of Bombay was changed to Mumbai in 1995, Madras to Chennai in 1996, Calcutta to Kolkata in 2001.
The central government had approved the renaming of 11 cities of Karnataka, that included Bangalore as Bengaluru, in 2014.
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Metro ridership in Haryana sees over 13 pc rise in 2025-26
Chandigarh (PTI): Haryana's urban transit system witnessed a strong growth in 2025-26, with metro ridership registering a robust 13.55 per cent increase, the state government said in a statement on Thursday.
The progress was reviewed in the 64th board meeting of Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation (HMRTC) chaired by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi.
Between April 2025 and February 2026, the metro network recorded over 1.74 crore passengers, compared to 1.53 crore in the corresponding period the previous year.
July recorded the highest monthly growth at 22.93 per cent, while all months showed consistent positive trends.
Financial performance has also remained strong, with fare revenue rising 12.64 per cent till January 2026, the statement said.
Non-fare revenue surged by 108 per cent, driven by effective monetisation of station spaces, advertisements and commercial activities, resulting in an operating surplus for Rapid Metro.
Further initiatives, including the auction of station naming rights and additional advertisement sites, are expected to strengthen HMRTC's financial position, the statement said.
Appreciating the performance, Rastogi stated that the consistent rise in ridership and revenue reflects the success of Haryana's integrated transport strategy, rising commuter confidence and a clear shift towards public transport.
HMRTC Managing Director Chander Shekhar Khare said that, alongside operational gains, the state is making steady progress on an ambitious pipeline of metro and regional transit projects.
Metro connectivity from Gurugram Sector 56 to Panchgaon is under active consideration, with Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited studying the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and layout plan, and finalising a depot location in Sector 36A near Sihi village, he said.
The Gurugram-Faridabad Namo Bharat corridor has achieved a key milestone, with alignment and station locations finalised and approved by the Haryana government. The National Capital Region Transport Corporation is preparing the DPR, he added.
Similarly, the Delhi-Kundli metro extension is proposed to be placed before the Haryana Cabinet for approval.
The 136.3-kilometre Delhi-Panipat-Karnal RRTS Corridor has also progressed, with the revised DPR submitted for financial concurrence ahead of Haryana Cabinet consideration.
Within Gurugram, DPR preparation has been approved for key intra-city corridors, including the 17.09-kilometre Bhondsi-Subhash Chowk-Rajeev Chowk-Sohna Chowk Railway Station corridor, enhancing connectivity along Sohna Road, Khare said.
