What was keeping the babus at Mantralaya, the state headquarters in Mumbai, busy for the last couple of weeks? Law and order problems? Near-drought in districts? Agrarian or industrial policies? None of the above. Instead bureaucrats were busy compiling a list of all legislations in their respective departments that feature the name “Bombay”. Following a demand from the state legislature, the government’s general administration department compiled a list of 160-odd Acts in which “Bombay” figures. Some 30 or 40 of these have been repealed but the rest are in force. Now the government will move a Bill in the winter session of the Assembly to replace “Bombay” with “Mumbai” in these all Acts. The original demand for the name change came from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MLA Nitin Sardesai, but the government’s hurry to take it forward means that both the ruling class and opposition are on the same side on this issue.
