Widespread fear amongst autorickshaw and taxi drivers over rumoured steep fines linked to a state government Marathi proficiency drive erupted into street protests in parts of Mumbai on Monday, forcing Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to step in and address the panic.
Devendra Fadnavis said the objective behind the government drive mandating “working knowledge” of Marathi was not to make the drivers language experts, but to ensure they can communicate in the local language for their work.
State Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik has warned of action against RTO officials fining autorickshaw and taxi drivers for the Marathi requirement before their one-month deadline to learn the language expires. A senior regional transport official at the Borivali RTO said they learnt that someone had spread misinformation among drivers that they would be fined Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 for not having working knowledge of Marathi. He clarified that the August 12 government resolution stated that RTO officials will issue a month’s notice to autorickshaw and taxi drivers who lack working knowledge of Marathi and grant them time to learn the language.
Seeking to allay drivers’ concerns, Fadnavis said the objective behind the government drive mandating “working knowledge” of Marathi was not to make the drivers language experts, but to ensure they can communicate in the local language for their work. He said drivers had already been given additional time to learn the language and asserted that no licence had been cancelled. He said that if they fail to meet the language requirement after a month, their licence and badge will be suspended and drivers will be given three more months to learn Marathi, failing which their licence will be cancelled.
