Karnataka renames Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South without Centre's go-ahead

Indian Express

22-05-2025

Karnataka's cabinet on Thursday decided to rename Ramanagara district, neighbouring the state capital, as Bengaluru South district, even though the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has not approved the renaming plan.
A government notification announcing the renaming of Ramanagara district is expected shortly.
Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar told reporters following a cabinet meeting that the renaming was being done as per rules, regulations and past amendments. 'Ramanagara city will remain the headquarters of the district. The cabinet has decided to rename it as Bengaluru South district from today,' he said.
Shivakumar, who first proposed renaming the district months after the Congress came to power in the state in 2023, said that Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagara were both part of the undivided Bengaluru district. 'To make sure that the Bengaluru name remains (for parts of Ramanagara), we are changing it,' he said.
Asked whether the central government had cleared the proposal, he said that though a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Centre was required, the states were within their rights to rename districts.
According to a note issued by the government following the cabinet meeting, the Union home ministry refused to issue an NOC for the proposal to rename the district. 'Schedule 7 of the Indian Constitution lists the different subjects in the Union List. Number 18 in the state list classifies land as a state subject and Number 45 in the state list says Land Revenue is also a state subject. Section(4) of The Karnataka Land Revenue Act empowers the state government to rename zones, taluks, creation of districts, changing them or withdrawing them, and renaming them,' the note added.
The cabinet approved the plan to rename Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South in July 2024, following which the state government submitted a proposal to the ministry for an NOC, but the response was not positive.
Bengaluru Metro cost escalation
The cabinet also cleared a revised estimate of Rs 40,425 crore for work under Bengaluru Metro's phase 2. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the cost of the project had escalated from Rs 26,405 crore to Rs 40,252.02 crore, an increase of Rs 14,0198 crore.
'The revised estimate is proposed due to the increase in the cost of land acquisition and land required, a 30-100 per cent increase in the solatium due to a hike in the guidance value of land, a Rs 4,408.73-crore increase in the cost of civil works, and an increase in the length of phase 2 from 72.09 km to 75.06 km,' the minister said.
Shivakumar said the government would go for a fresh tender on solid waste management in the city. Tenders for the collection and transportation of solid waste in Karnataka will be floated within four months under 33 packages. The estimated cost of the tender for seven years is Rs 4,791.95 crore.