24 August,2026 08:53 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik. File pic
Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Monday warned of action against Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials found to be wrongly fining autorickshaw and taxi drivers over not meeting the Marathi language requirement before the one-month deadline to learn the language expires, news agency PTI reported.
Sarnaik clarified that the August 12 government resolution states that RTO officials must issue a one-month notice to autorickshaw and taxi drivers who do not have a working knowledge of Marathi, giving them time to learn the language.
The transport minister said drivers who fail to meet the language requirement after the one-month notice period will have their licences and badges suspended. They will then be given an additional three months to learn Marathi.
If drivers fail to meet the requirement even after the additional three-month period, their licences will be cancelled, he added.
"If an RTO official is found to have wrongly fined drivers before a month's notice ends, action will be taken against him," Sarnaik said.
The minister, however, maintained that drivers who intentionally refuse to learn Marathi will face action.
Sarnaik's remarks came after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam, the party's north Indian face, met the minister and appealed for fines imposed on drivers to be stopped.
Nirupam also alleged that fines of up to Rs 25,000 were being imposed on drivers without giving them the mandatory one-month notice to learn Marathi.
On August 20, Regional Transport Offices issued notices to 1,268 commercial passenger vehicle drivers, mainly autorickshaw and taxi drivers, for allegedly lacking adequate knowledge of Marathi.
A day later, notices were issued to another 1,499 non-Marathi-speaking drivers across Maharashtra.
The notices are part of the state's implementation of the Marathi language requirement for commercial passenger vehicle drivers.
Sarnaik said 1,65,600 non-Marathi-speaking autorickshaw and taxi drivers had attended Marathi classes so far, the news agency reported.
The minister's clarification comes amid concerns among sections of the commercial transport community over the implementation of the language requirement and alleged premature enforcement by RTO officials.
Sarnaik reiterated that drivers must be given the stipulated one-month period to learn Marathi before any action is taken against them for failing to meet the requirement.
(With PTI inputs)
