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Another ‘Aurangzeb Road’ comes up; SDMC terms move as illegal

Amid raging controversy over renaming of Aurangzeb Road in Lutyens’ Zone after APJ Abdul Kalam, a street in South Delhi has been ‘named’ after the Mughal emperor, triggering a fresh row, even as SDMC termed it as “illegal” and said action will be taken accordingly.

“Home Minister Rajnath Singh had recently said in Parliament that names of historical places and buildings cannot be changed. Then, how come it was allowed to change the name of ‘Aurangzeb Road’? And, therefore as a token protest, we chose to call this as ‘Aurangzeb Road’,” 49-year-old Khan said.

The former MLA, who has also served as a councillor from the area in the 90s, claimed: “Local residents of Okhla are with me, and we will approach the authorities concerned for its official naming.” 

The area falls under the Central Zone of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

“This ‘naming’ of a street is illegal and politically motivated. Any naming or renaming of roads in municipal areas has to be approved by its Naming Committee and the Standing Committee. Though the area falls under us, we are also hearing that the road probably falls under the Uttar Pradesh Flood and Irrigation Department.

“We are trying to find out, and if it turns out that the road belongs to us (SDMC), then we will take strict action and remove all boards and encroachments. We are anyway against keeping or naming a road after any brutal ruler, so we are against this move,” South Delhi Mayor Subhash Arya said.

The stretch of nearly 3-km from Kalindi Kunj to Jamia Nagar, locally called as ‘Pushta Road’, has been “named” as ‘Aurangzeb Road’ by former Congress Okhla MLA Asif Mohammed Khan. 
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