Villagers want Khanapur named after Kavitha

HYDERABAD: Out of affection for their MP, the villagers of Khanapur in Armoor of Nizamabad want to rename their village as Kavithapur but there is one hitch.
The name cannot be changed just because the villagers have taken a decision to do it. It will have to be approved by the Union ministry of home affairs. From December 4, the villagers decided they would call it Kavithapur.
Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter Kalva Kuntla Kavitha who represents Nizamabad parliamentary constituency heard their grievances and reportedly assured them that two-bedroom houses would be constructed for them.To show their gratitude for her, they decided to name their village after her.
While villagers are gungho about their decision, district officials say they have no knowledge about this directly from the villagers. Asked if the villagers could rename a village by themselves, district collector Yogita Rana said she had to find out the procedure involved in renaming a village. “This is the first time that I have learnt about villagers wanting to to rename their village,“ the 2003-batch IAS officer said.
A district-level official said unless the name change is given in the gazette, it cannot be deemed to have been changed. According to procedures laid down by the union mini stry of home affairs, a proposal to rename a city, town, village or even railway stations has to be sent to the ministry.The state government will have to submit the proposal. The villagers cannot do it directly.
It is only after the centre accords approval, that the state government can give a gazette notification about the name change. Every year, they receive proposals from different state governments giving the old name and the proposed new name. However, the approval is not granted in all cases.