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HC stays renaming of Osmanabad district to Dharashiv

Justice S B Mhase of the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court has stayed the renaming of Osmanabad as Dharashiv till January 12.

The petitioner, Syed Khalil Saif, represented by his lawyer Pravin Mandlv, yesterday pointed out the state government had issued three notifications on January 1, 1999 renaming Osmanabad as Dharashiv. The government issued notifications under the Land Revenue Act, Maharashtra Municipal Council Act and an act of 1897 for renaming the district.

The petitioner argued that the state government has no powers to change the name. He submitted the 1972 Gazetteer before the court according to which in 1962, Osmanabad was shown in Naldurg district of Hyderabad State.

The petition also pointed out that the government had received 8500 objections. However, the government dubbed all of them incomplete. It said only two applications were heard, and the opinion of the people was thus not considered.

It also said the municipal councils of Osmanabad and Naldurg have rejected the proposal for renaming Osmanabad. The renaming was done in a hurry and the issue did not deserve any urgency. It has also created tension among communities, due to which the possibility of loss to public property could not be ruled out.

The chief government pleader, Anantbhushan Kanade, accepted the stay on implementation of the government notification.

UNI

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