Aligarh in Uttar
Pradesh may no longer be known by the same name as the city municipal corporation
has unanimously passed a proposal to change its name to Harigarh. The proposal
was presented by Mayor Prashant Singhal in a meeting and was backed by all
councillors.
If the Uttar
Pradesh Government approves the proposal to rename Aligarh, it will join the list
of renamed places like Prayagraj (earlier Allahabad), Pandit Deen Dayal
Upadhayay Nagar (earlier Mughal Sarai), Ayodhya district (earlier Faizabad
district) in the BJP-ruled State.
“In a meeting
yesterday, a proposal was presented to change the name of Aligarh to Harigarh.
All councillors unanimously supported this. Now, this proposal will be sent to
the administration. I hope that the administration will take cognizance of this
and fulfill our demand to change the name of Aligarh to Harigarh… This demand
has been being raised for a long time,” said Aligarh mayor Prashant Singhal.
A State Government
has the authority to change the name of any city or area within the State.
After a municipal body unanimously approves a proposed name change resolution,
it will write to the State Government.
The resolution
will then be sent by the State Government to the Ministry of Home Affairs for
approval. If the ministry and other relevant agencies approve the resolution,
the State Government can officially change the name.
Following the name
changes of Faizabad district and Allahabad, an Agra lawmaker had proposed that
Agra be renamed Agravan or Agarwal, while another suggested that Muzaffarnagar
be renamed Laxmi Nagar.
Since coming to
power in March 2017, the Yogi Adityanath Government has renamed many projects
and schemes, including the Purvanchal Expressway, which was initiated by the
Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party Government.
The SP Government
named the ambulance service the Samajwadi Ambulance Swasthya Sewa. The Yogi
Adityanath Government renamed the service, removing the prefix “Samajwadi” and
replacing it with “Mukhya Mantri” in the government’s pension scheme.
“We did what we
felt was good. Where there is a need, the government will take the steps
required,” said Yogi Adityanath previously.
NE Watch Desk
