According to the latest reports, an association of traders and shopkeepers have written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asking for a six-month extension to the June 30 deadline to put up Marathi signboards in establishments and shops in the city.
The state legislature had recently cleared a bill making Marathi signboard in Devanagari script mandatory for shops and establishments. Following this, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued an order that signboards to be installed in shops by May 31.
The order further highlighted that if the signboard has a name in more than one script, that of Devanagari must be bigger. If these rules are not adhered to, a penalty of up to INR 1 lakh and a fine of INR 2,000 per day would be levied if the law is not complied with. However, after requests from traders, the civic body had extended the deadline for putting up the signboards to June 30.
Based on accounts, the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association in its letter to Thackeray asked for six months to finish the procedure of redesigning the signboards. The elaborated on how its signboard's redesign needs the assistance of an architect and a board maker to accord it a decent look which adds to the city's skyline. The association reportedly believes that it would be arduous to conduct the activity during monsoon.
It has been reported that the letter elucidated that there are over 5 lakh shops as well as establishment holders many of whom have display boards with Marathi font size smaller than that of the others. The letter added on the professional assistance needed to redesign the boards to ensure it looks neat with a standard design.
Narratives suggest that the letter urged the CM to consider the genuine concern of the license holders. The federation had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court against the decision. But the judiciary upheld the state's resolution since it opined it to be a "reasonable requirement".
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