The 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly on Monday unanimously passed, ‘The Manipur Names of Places Bill, 2024 (Bill no.4 of 2024)’ to safeguard the indigenous names of places from unauthorised alteration of names.
The said bill was passed unanimously on the assembly floor of the ongoing 5th session of 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly after the leader of the House moved the bill on the floor for consideration.
Before the bill was passed, leader of the House N Biren Singh who is also the land revenue minister incharge while giving his statement in connection with the bill said that the contributions made by the forefathers have been honored by naming places, historical sites and others after them.
He said that the present generation should protect them in honor of the contributions made by the forefathers against the unauthorised alteration of the historical names of places and sites.
He further said that the government has found unauthorised alteration of names of places and sites without the consent of authority concerned. It was recently found that the address of Bir Tikendrajit International Airport was renamed as Lamka instead of Imphal.
The historical hill ‘Thangjing’ was found trying to change into ‘Thangting’ and Thangjing hill as Mount Olive and a reserved forest as ‘Haokip Reserve Forest’. Even some groups produced documents regarding the ‘Haokip Reserve Forest’ which was unexpected, CM Biren said.
He said even while issuing statements from Assam Rifles they used Lamka district instead of Churachandpur district. Churachandpur was named after Maharaja Churachand in honour of his contributions made for the protection of the territorial boundary of Manipur.
He said that no one is authorised to change the name of a places or sites without the consent of the authority concerned.
CM Biren further warned that immediate action will be taken up against any officer found involved in alteration of name of a historical site or place without the consent of government.
The said officer will be booked and can be imprisoned for one-three years with a fine of Rs 1-3 lakh.
The bill was moved on the assembly floor after discussing it in a state cabinet meeting in order to avoid unauthorised alteration of names of places as there is apprehension that the identity of Manipur might be lost in the next few years if not properly taken cared, he added.
Supporting the statement of the leader of the House, opposition MLA K Ranjit opined that if any civil bodies are involved in unauthorised alteration, that would be another case. But if Assam Rifles are found involved in alteration of names of a district, then the involved individuals could be booked under law, he said.
The leader of the House, N Biren Singh who is also finance incharge also moved ‘The Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Bill no. 7 of 2024)’ for consideration along with ‘The Manipur Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Bill no. 8 of 2024)’.
Besides, MAHUD Minister Y Khemchand moved ‘The Manipur Municipalities (11th Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Bill No. 1 of 2024)’ for consideration on the assembly floor; Labour and employment minister, Heikham Dingo moved ‘The Manipur Labour Laws (Exemption from Renewal of Registration and License by Establishment) Bill, 2024 (Bill No. 6 of 2024’.
Education Minister Th Basanta Kumar Singh also moved ‘The Manipur Prevention of Malpractices in High School Leaving Certificate and Higher Secondary Examinations Bill, 2024 (Bill No. 5 of 2024)’ for consideration.
The House later passed all the six government bills without any objection.
