HUDA name change wasn’t on agenda

Naveen S Garewal

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 15

What’s in a name? Lots, if it has a Bhupinder Singh Hooda connect. That perhaps was the reason why two senior BJP ministers went all out to announce that the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) had been renamed as Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran to “end the HUDA-Hooda resemblance”.

However, it now turns out that the issue was neither on the agenda of the June 1 Cabinet meeting, nor was any decision on changing the name taken.

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Responding to an application by RTI activist Hemant Kumar, Under Secretary of the Cabinet Branch, Haryana Civil Secretariat, has written that the move to change the name of HUDA was “neither on the agenda of the Cabinet meeting, nor has any decision been taken”. The straight reply has put the Haryana ministers in an awkward position for misstating facts.

After the Cabinet meeting, Health Minister Anil Vij had said that any reference to HUDA was often misunderstood as talking about Hooda since it rhymed with the name of the former Chief Minister. “Questioning of Hooda by CBI was read as wrongdoing by officers of HUDA, so the Cabinet has rechristened HUDA,” he was quoted as saying.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Krishan Kumar Bedi said the same day that the government found it apt to have HUDA renamed in Hindi, the way Gurgaon was changed to  Gurugram and Ballabhgarh to Balramgarh.

The RTI activist had also written to the Governor about adopting the proper procedure to change the name of HUDA through suitable amendment(s) to the Haryana Urban Development Authority Act, 1977 so as to facilitate change of its abbreviation/acronym from HUDA to HSVP as decided by the Haryana Cabinet. He even suggested that since the Assembly was not in session, the government can resort to promulgation of an ordinance.