West Bengal forms panel for naming and renaming public places

Kolkata: West Bengal government has constituted a State-level Advisory Committee for consideration of proposals for naming and renaming of roads, streets and public places in West Bengal.

In a bid to ensure that proposals relating to the naming and renaming of roads, streets, avenues and other public places in the state in “a systematic, transparent and consistent manner”, with due regard to historical, cultural, heritage and public considerations, a State-level Advisory Committee has been constituted.

The Committee is headed by Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj) and will include Tathagata Roy, former Governor of Tripura, Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister Subrata Gupta, IAS (Retd), Principal Secretary-Home & Hill Affairs Department Secretary, Information & Cultural Affairs Department Secretary, Public Works Department; Kolkata Municipal Corporation Municipal Commissioner Smita Pandey, West Bengal Heritage Commission Secretary and Dr. Bishnupada Dutta among others.


The Committee will “examine and consider proposals received from Government Departments, Local Bodies, District Administrations and other authorised institutions/authorities for naming or renaming of roads, streets, avenues, bridges, public places and other public assets”, the notification read. The Committee will also examine the historical, cultural, social, heritage and public significance of the proposed names and assess their suitability.

It will also examine issues “relating to duplication, similarity, public convenience, geographical identification and continuity while considering any proposal for a new name or change of an existing name, ensure that due consideration is given to the contribution of distinguished personalities, historical events, cultural heritage and other matters of public significance while examining proposals.

The relevant local bodies, heritage institutions, historians, experts and other stakeholders , wherever considered necessary, by the committee, in addition to examining the relevant records, archival material and other documentary evidence in cases where historical or heritage considerations.

Prior to this, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has announced the renaming of Suhrawardy Avenue as Gopal Mukherjee Road, through a notification dated June 20.

Gopal Mukherjee, or Gopal Patha, was a butcher who had saved many lives during the Great Calcutta Killing.