After the Maharashtra Cabinet decided to make it compulsory for shops to have Marathi signboards, the retail traders’ association has protested the move.
Releasing a statement, the association on Wednesday, January 13, said that in amid pandemic, shopkeepers have already suffered a lot. If they will be forced to change the name board into Marathi, crores of rupees will be spent. Every shopkeeper will have to spend INR 10,000 to INR 30,000 depending on the size of the board.
“We request the state government to keep shopkeepers away from politics of Marathi signboards,” it added.
Federation of Retail Traders’ Welfare Association (FRTWA), a state-level umbrella group of shops, has questioned the amendment and highlighted that the rule is in violation of a petition pending before Bombay High Court. The court had also prohibited the state government and BMC from imposing fines on violators.
The Bombay High Court had stayed a bigger font on Marathi signboards after the federation went to court in 2001. This cannot be passed in the assembly as the issue is sub-judice, the statement further read.
For those unversed, this decision is an amendment to the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017. The objective was to close a legal loophole which the owners of small shops exploit to avoid putting up Marathi signboards (already required for bigger establishments).
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