On August 17, 2020, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved the renaming of Manduadih Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh (UP) as ‘Banaras’. In 2019, Former Union Minister Manoj Sinha had written to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath requesting the change in name of the Manduadih Railway Station.
Key Points:
i.The ‘No Objection Certificate’ for the renaming of the station was issued by the Home Ministry to the UP Government in March, 2020.
ii.Manduadih Railway Station is situated in Varanasi, which is the Lok Sabha Constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Guidelines for Approval:
i.Under the Constitution ‘Land’ is a state subject and state governments have the power to change the names of city, district or railway station provided with ‘No Objection’ from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which is mandatory.
ii.The state government sends a request for change of name to MHA, which is forwarded to agencies such as Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), the Intelligence Bureau, the Department of Posts, the Geographical Survey of India and the Ministry of Railways seeking a clearance, upon which NOC is granted.
Recent Related News:
i.On February 21, 2020 Four railway stations in UP’s Prayagraj got new names. Allahabad – Prayagraj Junction, Allahabad city – Prayagraj Rambag, Allahabad Chhioki – Prayagraj Chheoki & Prayag ghat to Prayagraj Sangam.
ii.On 5th July 2020, Yogi Adityanath, CM of Uttar Pradesh inaugurated “Mission Vriksharopan-2020” in Kukarel Forest, Lucknow, on account of Guru Purnima, under which around 25 crore saplings of medicinal, herbal,environmental, fruit producing, shady, fodder plants of around 201 species will be planted across the state.
About Uttar Pradesh:
Capital – Lucknow
Chief Minister – Yogi Adityanath
Governor – Anandiben Patel
About Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA):
Union Minister – Amit Anilchandra Shah
Minister of State (MoS) – Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, Nityanand Rai.
