The Centre has given approval to change the names of three places in Madhya Pradesh namely Hoshangabad Nagar as “Narmadapuram,” Shivpuri as “Kundeshwar Dham” and Babai as “Makhan Nagar.”
Babai has been renamed after the renowned journalist and poet Makhanlal Chaturvedi, officials said.
The proposals of renaming the places were received from Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in 2021 officials said. Located on the south bank of River Narmada, Hoshangabad was named after Hoshang Shah, the first ruler of Malwa, more than six hundred years ago.
Officials said the process for renaming Babai and Shivpuri was pending with the Centre since 2020-21 due to clearances from central agencies. A freedom fighter, the government has named a national university of journalism and communication at Bhopal after Makhanlal in 1992.
Babai, the place where Makhanlal was born is nearly 80 kilometers from Bhopal. Under the government guidelines for renaming railway stations, villages, towns and cities, it is mandatory for the state government to obtain a noobjection certificate (NOC) from the union home ministry.
The NOC ensures that other institutions in the district names, including railway station, high court and university, are also changed, officials added.
The ministry had earlier approved the renaming of the British-era railway station Robertsgang as Sonbhadra, Farah Town railway station near Mathura as DDU Station, Allahabad town as Prayagraj and iconic Mughalsarai junction after Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay (DDU), the founder of Bhartiya Jana Sangh.
