‘One more year’: Maharashtra govt extends deadline for auto, taxi drivers to learn Marathi

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday announced that auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers will be given one year to learn functional Marathi, with no action taken against them during this period for not meeting the language requirement.

The decision came after representatives of auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers’ organisations met Fadnavis and requested more time to learn the language. They said drivers from different age groups, particularly those who left formal education years ago, could find it difficult to learn Marathi within a short deadline.

Marathi classes and study material

Fadnavis said the government has accepted the request and will provide drivers with one year to acquire basic Marathi skills. Marathi classes will be organised during this period, and study materials will be provided to help them learn functional Marathi.

The representatives, led by Haji Arfat Shaikh, also supported the requirement for drivers to know basic Marathi and expressed their willingness to learn, the chief minister said.

Also read | ‘Speak Marathi or leave’: Mumbai woman confronted, language clash caught on camera

Checking drive led to notices

The Maharashtra government had announced in April that non-Marathi-speaking commercial drivers would have to learn basic Marathi and had initially set August 15 as the deadline.

On August 20, the state Transport Department conducted a statewide checking drive. Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said 1,268 commercial passenger vehicle drivers, mainly auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers, were issued notices for inadequate knowledge of Marathi.

Drivers who failed the Marathi test were initially given one month to acquire working knowledge of the language, after which their badges could be suspended for three months.

PTI