Maha taxi drivers to get 1 year to learn Marathi

Amid a language controversy, the Maharashtra government has made a decision to grant auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers a year's time to learn functional Marathi. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced this on the heels of the Transport Department, headed by Shiv Sena minister Pratap Sarnaik, conducting a checking drive and issuing notices to drivers who failed a Marathi test.

Fadnavis stated that representatives from auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers' organizations, led by Haji Arfat Shaikh, backed the rule that drivers should learn basic Marathi and were willing to learn it. However, they pointed out that drivers span various age groups and many had left formal education years ago, making it challenging to learn Marathi quickly.

They thus requested a one-year grace period, which the state government has approved. During this time, Marathi classes will be conducted, and study material provided to aid the drivers in learning functional Marathi. Fadnavis emphasized that it was essential to give the drivers time, as they had volunteered to learn. Earlier, in April, the government had mandated non-Marathi drivers to learn basic Marathi, setting a deadline of August 15, and had organized Marathi classes for them.

On August 20, the transport department had issued notices to 1,268 commercial passenger vehicle drivers, primarily including auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers, for lacking sufficient Marathi knowledge on the first day of the state-wide checking.