Joel Joseph | TNN | Sep 28,
2016, 06.24 AM IST
GURGAON: It's official.
Gurgaon will henceforth be called Gurugram.
Chief minister Manohar Lal
Khattar said on Tuesday the Union government has accepted its proposal for the
Mahabharata-inspired name change on Tuesday. "From now on, both the city
and the district of Gurgaon will be known as Gurugram," Khattar said,
shortly after presiding over the first meeting of the state-level Swarna
Jayanti (golden jubilee) celebrations committee in Panchkula.
The chief minister had
announced the name change on April 12 this year. That the Centre has accorded
its approval within six months has surprised many. "I wish the BJP
government shows the same alacrity in changing the face of the city, by
improving the crumbling infrastructure that is plaguing the city. As a person
who was born in here, I'll continue to call it Gurgaon," said Swaraj
Abhiyan founder Yogendra Yadav, who contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election from
Gurgaon.
Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh
welcomed the move with caution. "While I welcome this decision, I want to
add that a name alone will not suffice. There needs to be development as
well," he said.
In February 2012, the MCG
house had passed a resolution to change the name from Gurgaon to Gurugram. In
fact, much before the resolution was passed by the house, former MCG
commissioner Rajesh Khullar, who is now the personal secretary to CM Khattar,
had proposed the name change in 2010.
According to sources, one of
the reasons behind the promptness shown is because of the grand celebration
planned to mark the 50th anniversary of the state, which will be held in
Gurugram on November 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest at
the occasion. The Khattar government is also keen to launch the Gurugram
Development Authority (GDA) before November 1.
"The CM is trying to
speed up the process to ensure the city gets a new name officially before the
year-long golden jubilee celebrations begin. His government kept following up
with the Union ministry of home affairs, in order to be sure the proposal is
approved at the earliest," said a senior district official.
