Messing with place names without asking first could land you in big trouble – up to three years in jail and a hefty Rs 3 lakh fine. Yep, that’s what’s on the cards if you don’t play by the rules, as decided by the Assembly today. Chief Minister N Biren Singh spilled the beans, sharing that they cooked up “The Manipur Names of Places Bill, 2024” to stop folks randomly renaming spots.
In the Assembly today, everyone gave a big thumbs up to the bill. Chief Minister N Biren Singh spilled the beans, saying it’s to stop all these sneaky name changes happening. Just imagine, Churachandpur turning into “Lamka” on official papers for the airport, tax department, and a letter from the Assam Rifles. Kangpokpi got a name switch to “Kangui,” and Thangjing went all “Haokip Reserve Forest.”
The Chief Minister added that, in the past, ten villages in Jiribam got brand new names without the nod from the bigwigs. They managed to fix the village names, but if this renaming spree continues, protecting the state’s heritage and cool old spots is going to be tough.
This cool-sounding Manipur Names of Places Bill, 2024 aims to put a stop to this renaming madness, according to N Biren. The bill creates a committee to handle name changes for places not under the Central Government. And guess what? If any government official gets caught changing names, they could end up with a one to three-year time-out in jail and a fine of Rs 1-3 lakh.
MLA K Ranjit Singh popped the question if the state has taken action against name changers. He got a thumbs-up from Chief Minister N Biren, who said the Congress party is all in for this bill. Another Congress MLA, Th Lokeshwar, insisted Assam Rifles should face the music for swapping “Lamka” for Churachandpur in official letters. He warned that the bill would be useless if they let these violations slide.
When asked about action against the name-changers, Chief Minister N Biren promised they’d get their due punishment once the bill becomes law. The Assembly gave the green light to the bill, along with a bunch of others, including The Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Sixth Amendment) Bill 2024, The Manipur Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Fifth Amendment) Bill 2024, The Manipur Municipalities (11th Amendment) Bill 2024, and The Manipur Labour Laws (Exemption from Renewal of Registration and License by Establishments) Bill 2024.
Zero Hour brought up some hot topics too. Ukhrul MLA Ram Muivah shouted about illegal taxes and donations from vehicles along the Imphal-Ukhrul road. Transporters are threatening a road shutdown from March 6 if the government doesn’t sort it out. Meanwhile, MLA Surjakumar Okram flagged the sorry state of the road from Khangabok Bangsibudon to Khakhudhon, urging the Chief Minister and Transport Minister to take a look.
MLA KH Joykisan raised a water crisis in Thangmeiband AC, where places like Kangjabi Leirak and Soram Leirak haven’t seen a drop in two years. He’s calling on the Minister to get it sorted. And lastly, MLA K Ranjit reminded the Chief Minister about the 13th-month pay for active service personnel, urging a quick payout.
