Odisha Directs Collectors to Ensure Uniform Use of Revised English Place Names

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has stepped up implementation of its decision to change the English spellings of several place names to bring them in line with their Odia pronunciation, directing all district Collectors to ensure uniform use of the revised nomenclature across government establishments.

Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue & Disaster Management Department, Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, has asked Collectors to personally review nameplates and signboards of government offices and institutions in their respective districts and ensure that only the government-approved spellings are used.

The directive follows a Gazette notification issued on June 22, 2026, under which government offices and institutions were required to update their signboards within one month. Private and non-government institutions were given six months to adopt the revised spellings.

The state government has, however, found that some government establishments continue to display the earlier English spellings, prompting the fresh instructions to district administrations.

Under the revised nomenclature, Angul will be written as “Anugola”, Balasore as “Baleshwar”, Kendrapara as “Kendrapada” and Cuttack as “Kataka”. Similarly, the department has asked officials to replace spellings such as “Jeypore” and “Soro” with “Jayapur” and “Sora”, respectively.

The department has stressed that consistency in the use of place names is necessary to ensure uniformity in official records and public-facing government establishments. Continued use of old spellings on signboards, it said, could lead to discrepancies in official nomenclature.

Collectors have therefore been asked to conduct a comprehensive review of government offices, institutions and other establishments and take necessary corrective measures. They have also been directed to encourage private and non-government institutions to adopt the revised spellings within the prescribed timeframe.

The Revenue & Disaster Management Department has accorded priority to the implementation and asked all Collectors to submit compliance reports within one week, detailing the status of adoption of the revised spellings in their respective districts.