The Maharashtra government has given auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers who do not know Marathi one year to learn the language. On Thursday, Chief Minister Fadnavis said that no action would be taken against the drivers during this period.
This move has postponed the implementation of the Marathi language requirement by one year. Organizations representing auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers had met Fadnavis and sought more time to comply with the rule.
Fadnavis also said that the organizations had supported the requirement for drivers working in Mumbai to have a basic knowledge of Marathi. They argued that the drivers are of different ages and that many have been away from formal education for a long time. Therefore, they may need time to learn Marathi.
He said the government would use this time not merely as a grace period, but to help drivers learn through classes and study material.
Fadnavis said, “No action will be taken against them during this one-year period. We will prepare different kinds of classes and study material to help them learn basic Marathi.”
The announcement comes amid a renewed political debate over the use of Marathi in Mumbai and the state government’s efforts to enforce language requirements for public-facing services. The issue has particularly affected taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers in the city, many of whom have come from other states.
Driver organisations had demanded more time, saying that there were practical difficulties in enforcing the language requirement within a short period among such a large and diverse workforce.
Plan to teach Marathi to around 600,000 drivers
According to the government, Maharashtra has around 916,000 auto-rickshaws and 61,657 taxis. A large number of them operate in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The government wants to involve around 600,000 auto-taxi drivers in an initiative to learn Marathi. Sarnaik said that 165,601 drivers have joined the campaign, which was launched a few months ago.
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