West Bengal Capital City (Change of Name) Act, 2001
GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL
LAW DEPARTMENT
Legislative
No. 1644-L Dated 28th August, 2001.
NOTIFICATION
West Bengal Act XVIII of 2001
THE WEST BENGAL CAPITAL CITY (CHANGE OF NAME) ACT, 2001.
An Act to alter the name of the Capital City of the State of West Bengal, Calcutta.
Whereas it is expedient to change the name of the City of Calcutta and to give effect to the changed name, Kolkata, in place of Calcutta, so far and so long accepted universally in any law or document or instrument, on any structure, building, monument, road, lake, ground or any object of public importance or any other instrument having the force of law;
And whereas it is expedient to rename ‘Calcutta’ as ‘Kolkata’ in consideration of the historical, social and cultural aspects of this State and its Capital City,
It is hereby enacted in the Fifty-second Year of the Republic of India, by the Legislature of West Bengal, as follows:-
1. Short title and commencement.
(1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Capital City (Change of Name) Act, 2001.
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from the 1st day of January, 2001.
2. Definitions.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(1) “Approved Spelling” means the spelling as stated in section 3;
(2) “Calcutta” means the name of the Capital City of the State of West Bengal prior to the commencement of this Act;
(3) “Kolkata” means the name of the Capital City of the State of West Bengal on and from the date of commencement of this Act;
(4) “Law” includes any enactment, ordinance, regulation, order, rule, scheme, notification, bye-law or other instrument having the force of law in the whole or any part of the State.
3. Spelling.
Approved spelling of the name of the Capital City of the State of West Bengal shall be described as follows:-
| Bengali | Roman | Devanagari |
| কলকাতা | Kolkata | कोलकाता |
4. Substitution of the name of Calcutta to Kolkata.
The name of the Capital City of the State of West Bengal, Calcutta shall on and from the date of commencement of this Act be known as Kolkata.
5. The word ‘Calcutta’ to be read as ‘Kolkata’.
Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the word ‘Calcutta’ occurring in any Act, Ordinance, Order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification, custom or usage or other instrument having the force of law shall be read as ‘Kolkata’ having the boundaries of ‘Calcutta’ as defined in subsection (9) of section 2 of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act, 1980.
By order of the Governor,
A. K. BHATTACHARYA
Secy. to the Govt. of West Bengal