Maharashtra gives taxi, autorickshaw drivers a year to learn Marathi

Autorickshaw and taxi unions on Friday welcomed the Maharashtra government’s decision to give drivers an additional year to acquire working knowledge of Marathi, saying it had removed the immediate threat to their livelihoods.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the extension after meeting a delegation at the Sahyadri Guest House on Thursday. He said no action would be taken against non-Marathi-speaking drivers during the extended period.

The announcement came a day after deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde distributed certificates to around 20,000 autorickshaw and taxi drivers who had completed a Marathi language course in Mumbai.

The BJP-led state government had announced in April that commercial passenger vehicle drivers who did not speak Marathi would be required to learn the basics of the language. It initially set 15 August as the deadline and organised classes to assist them.

Mumbai Taximen’s Association leader Prem Singh said the additional year would provide drivers with sufficient time to develop the required language skills.

He said many taxi drivers were over 60 and could not be expected to learn Marathi within a short period, although several already understood the language.

“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,” Singh said.

D.M. Gosavi, leader of the Seva Sarathi Taxi Rickshaw Transport Union, said drivers were relieved that they would not immediately lose their source of income.

“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,” he said.

However, a retired transport department official questioned the manner in which the policy had been implemented, saying it did not adequately account for practical difficulties faced by drivers.

The official said amendments made to the rules earlier this month did not clearly define what would qualify as working knowledge of Marathi. This ambiguity could leave drivers vulnerable to financial exploitation, he warned.

A senior Regional Transport Office official said flying squads had been occupied with a month-long enforcement drive and would have faced a sharp rise in their workload after the deadline.

Notices had already been issued to hundreds of drivers, and officials could have spent several months processing the cases had enforcement continued, he said.

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

Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik had earlier said drivers who failed the language test would be given one month to acquire working knowledge of Marathi. Their badges could have been suspended for three months if they failed to meet the requirement within that period.

With IANS inputs