Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced a one-year grace period for auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers to learn Marathi, offering significant relief to drivers amid the ongoing controversy over the state's Marathi language requirement.
Fadnavis said on Thursday that no punitive action would be taken against drivers for not complying with the Marathi language requirement during the one-year period. The decision follows protests by drivers and growing political debate over the language rule across Maharashtra.
Fadnavis said he had held discussions with representatives of auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers regarding the Marathi language requirement.
According to the Chief Minister, the drivers agreed that knowing Marathi was important but explained that people from different age groups and backgrounds work in the transport sector. They argued that learning the language within a short period would be difficult for many drivers.
The drivers therefore requested one year to learn Marathi, a demand that the state government has now accepted.
Fadnavis confirmed that drivers would not face punitive action during this one-year grace period.
The Maharashtra government had earlier indicated that auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers would be required to have a working knowledge of Marathi.
Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik had said that action could be taken against drivers who failed to meet the language requirement. Under the proposed provisions, a driver's licence could initially be suspended for one month.
The Transport Department had also stated that if a driver failed to acquire the required Marathi language skills even after the suspension period, their driver badge could be cancelled in accordance with the applicable rules.
The language requirement had faced opposition from sections of the auto-rickshaw and taxi-driving community in Maharashtra.
However, many protesting drivers maintained that they were not opposed to learning Marathi. Their main demand was for additional time to meet the requirement.
Drivers staged protests in several areas, arguing that suspending licences or cancelling badges solely because they had not yet acquired sufficient Marathi proficiency would be unfair.
The government's decision to provide a one-year grace period without punitive action addresses the immediate concern raised by the drivers and could help ease tensions surrounding the issue.
The key question now is how the Marathi language requirement will be enforced once the one-year period ends.
The government is yet to clarify all the details of the implementation process, including whether drivers will have to appear for a Marathi language test or meet the requirement through another assessment process.
For now, the one-year extension provides auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers with additional time to learn Marathi while temporarily protecting them from punitive action for non-compliance.