WATCH | Maharashtra Marathi mandate: Non-Marathi auto drivers celebrate one-year deadline extension

Auto and taxi drivers celebrate after Maharashtra government announces one-year extension to learn Marathi (Pic/Screengrab from X)

Non-Marathi autorickshaw drivers in Maharashtra celebrated the Maharashtra government's decision to grant them a one-year extension to learn the language.

The decision has come as a major relief to a large number of non-Marathi autorickshaw drivers who were facing pressure to meet the Marathi language requirement within the stipulated period.

Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis announced the timeline extension after a delegation met him at the Sahyadri Guest House on Thursday. The decision means immediate action against non-Marathi drivers has been halted, giving them more time to learn the language.

Following the announcement, several auto drivers, welcoming the decision, expressed their gratitude and thanked Fadnavis. They said that an additional year would give them more time to learn the language and meet the requirement without facing immediate difficulties in continuing their livelihood.

The announcement of the extension came a day after Deputy CM Eknath Shinde handed over certificates to around 20,000 autorickshaw and taxi drivers who had completed the language course in Mumbai.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government in April announced that non-Marathi drivers must learn basic Marathi and set a deadline of August 15 while organising Marathi classes for them.

Marathi mandate: Taxi unions welcome one-year extension for drivers

Prem Singh, Mumbai Taximen's Association leader, said the one-year extension would give taxi drivers sufficient time to acquire working knowledge of Marathi.

He added that many taxi drivers were over 60 years of age and found it difficult to learn the language within a short period, although several of them already understood Marathi well.

The Mumbai Taximen's Association leader further stated, "Now that they know it is mandatory, they will acquire the required skill within a year. As a union, we will also make arrangements to help drivers learn the language."

Hailing the extended deadline, DM Gosavi, leader of the Seva Sarathi Taxi Rickshaw Transport Union, said drivers are happy that they will not lose their livelihood for now.

Gosavi highlighted, "Our members are quite happy and satisfied with the decision. We have already started classrooms to teach Marathi, and the additional time will help more drivers learn the language," as per PTI.

A senior RTO official told news agency PTI that flying squads had been fully engaged in the enforcement drive launched in recent days, and their workload would have increased further after the deadline, as notices had already been issued to hundreds of drivers.

RTO officials get relief as Marathi enforcement against drivers is deferred

The RTO official, while requesting anonymity, said, "While deciding to postpone the decision to make Marathi mandatory for one year, the chief minister has said that no action will be taken against any rickshaw or taxi driver. Otherwise, our officers would have spent the next four-five months handling these cases alone."

On August 20, the transport department issued notices to 1,268 commercial passenger vehicle drivers - mainly autorickshaw and taxi drivers - for lacking adequate knowledge of Marathi on the first day of statewide checking.

Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik had said that drivers failing the Marathi test would be given one month to acquire the working knowledge of the language, failing which their badges would be suspended for three months.

(With inputs from PTI)