The proposal to rename Delhi's Talkatora Indoor Stadium to 'Maharishi Valmiki Stadium' is awaiting clearance from the Union Home Ministry and will be passed in the next NDMC meeting once approved, Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma said on Thursday. "I have talked to the Union Home Minister. The proposal is pending with him. Whenever it gets cleared from there, we will pass that in the next NDMC council meeting," Verma told reporters after the civic body's council session.

Verma had earlier proposed renaming the stadium after Maharishi Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana, during the Delhi Assembly election campaign this year. He had contested the elections against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal.

Talkatora Stadium, a major indoor sports venue in the capital, derives its name from the adjacent Mughal-era garden.

The name 'Talkatora' comes from two Persian words, 'tal', meaning a tank, and 'katora', meaning a bowl, referring to the natural depression and water tank in the area.

According to the New Delhi Municipal Council guidelines, renaming proposals must first be submitted to the general administration department. After being approved by the 13-member NDMC Council, the proposal is forwarded to the Delhi government's Urban Development Department, and finally to the MHA, which has the final authority on the matter.