Minister Maha stops taking action against auto and taxi drivers over Marathi language issue

Mumbai: Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Monday shelved the decision to cancel the licenses and permits of auto and taxi drivers from May 1 for non-compliance with Marathi language requirements, opting instead to carry out awareness, verification and training drives in a phased manner. The Mumbai Auto Rickshaw Union called off the May 4 protest after discussions.The government will conduct a survey of 59 RTOs from May 1 to August 15 to ascertain how many drivers speak Marathi and how many do not. The exercise will also uncover fake licenses, fake badges and license-related violations.Non-Marathi speaking drivers will be directed to training centers and receive tuition fees to gain practical proficiency. “We will enforce the law strictly after giving them a reasonable opportunity,” Sarnaik said.The Transport Ministry has withdrawn its previous decision on Marathi reading and writing tests and instead prepared short courses focusing on practical applications.