Bhubaneswar: In a significant move aimed at preserving linguistic identity and ensuring phonetic accuracy, the Odisha government on Monday issued a notification through the Revenue & Disaster Management Department to standardise the English spellings of administrative place names across the state in alignment with Odia pronunciation.
The revised spellings will apply to districts, sub-divisions, tahasils, blocks, municipalities, NACs, and other urban local bodies. The initiative seeks to ensure that English transliterations of place names more accurately reflect their pronunciation in Odia, while also maintaining cultural and linguistic consistency.
Clarifying the scope of the decision, the government stated that the changes are strictly orthographic in nature and do not alter the actual names or identities of any administrative units. The notification emphasised that the revised spellings only replace existing English versions and should not be interpreted as renaming of places.
As part of the exercise, several place names have been standardised. For instance, “Cuttack” has been revised as “Kataka,” “Balasore” as “Baleshwar,” and “Bolangir” as “Balangir.” Similarly, Angul will be spelled as “Anugola,” Bargarh as “Baragada,” and Sundargarh as “Sundaragada.”
- Angul District
- Angul → ANUGOLA
- Pallahara → PALALAHADA
- Talcher → TALACHER
- Balangir District
- Bolangir → BALANGIR
- Bangamunda → BANGOMUNDA
- Baleshwar (Balasore) District
- Balasore → BALESHWAR
- Nilgiri → NILAGIRI
- Soro → SORA
- Bargarh District
- Bargarh → BARAGADA
- Rajborasambar → RAJBODASAMBAR
- Bhadrak District
- Bonth → BANTA
- Boudh District
- Boudhgarh → BOUDHAGADA
- Cuttack District
- Cuttack → KATAKA
- Salipur → SALEPUR
- Baramba → BADAMBA
- Athagarh → ATHAGADA
- Deogarh District
- Deogarh → DEBAGADA
- Reamal → RIAMAL
- Ganjam District
- Berhampur → BRAHMAPUR
- Hinjilicut → HINJILIKATU
- Aska → ASIKA
- Surada → SORADA
- Jajpur District
- Dasarathpur → DASHARATHPUR
- Dharmasala → DHARMASHALA
- Jharsuguda District
- Belpahar → BELPAHAD
- Kalahandi District
- Junagarh → JUNAGADA
- Dharamgarh → DHARMAGADA
- Jaipatna → JAYAPATANA
- Lanjigarh → LANJIGADA
- Bhawanipatna → BHABANIPATANA
- Kandhamal District
- Kandhamal → KANDHAMALA
- Kendrapara District
- Kendrapara → KENDRAPADA
- Aul → AALI
- Mahakalapada → MAHAKALAPADA
- Keonjhar District
- Keonjhar → KENDUJHAR
- Barbil → BADABIL
- Keonjhargarh → KENDUJHARGADA
- Khordha District
- Khurda → KHORDHA
- Bolagarh → BOLAGADA
- Banpur → BANAPUR
- Jatni → JATANI
- Koraput / Jeypore
- Jeypore → JAYAPUR
- Malkangiri District
- Podia → PADIA
- Mayurbhanj District
- Betanati → BETANATI
- Samakhunta → SHAMAKHUNTA
- Moroda → MORADA
- Rasgovindpur → RASAGOBINDAPUR
- Panchpir → PANCHAPIDHA
- Nabarangpur District
- Umerkote → UMARKOT
- Nayagarh District
- Nayagarh → NAYAGADA
- Daspalla → DASHAPALLA
- Nuapada District
- Khariar → KHADIAL
- Nimapara → NIMAPADA
- Sambalpur Region
- Rairakhol → REDHAKHOL
- Subarnapur District
- Sonepur → SONPUR
- Binka → BINIKA
- Sundargarh District
- Sundargarh → SUNDARAGADA
- Bonaigarh → BANAIGADA
- Koira → KOIDA
- Lephripara → LEPHRIPADA
- Subdega → SABDEGA
- Bargaon → BADAGAN
- Lahunipara → LAHUNIPADA
- Rourkela → RAURKELA
The exercise covers a wide range of administrative units, including tahasils, blocks, municipalities, and NACs, and will come into effect uniformly once it is published in the Odisha Gazette.
The government further clarified that the notification does not impact jurisdictional boundaries, governance structures, or administrative functioning. It is intended solely to ensure consistency in official documentation and standardisation of English transliterations.
“The corrections effected herein relate solely to the English spellings of the concerned administrative units and shall not be construed as effecting any change in their names,” the notification stated.
The move is aimed at reinforcing Odisha’s linguistic heritage and reducing inconsistencies introduced during historical transliterations. The notification will come into force from the date of its publication in the Odisha Gazette.
