Notices issued to 1268 drivers in Maharashtra over lack of working knowledge of Marathi

Notices were issued to 1,268 commercial passenger vehicle drivers — mainly auto rickshaw and taxi drivers —for not having adequate knowledge of Marathi on the first day of State-wide checking on Thursday, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said.

The notices were issued by the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) across the state, and these drivers were given one month to acquire the required working knowledge of the state’s primary language, failing which their badges will be suspended for three months, the minister said.  

A total of 8,217 drivers were tested till Thursday evening, including 3,995 in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Sarnaik stated in a release. 

 In the MMR, 604 drivers were found to be lacking working knowledge of Marathi. In the rest of the state, 4,222 drivers were tested and 664 were issued notices, the minister said.
The checking drive will continue until September 30, he said.

“Possessing working knowledge of Marathi is not merely a matter of following rules but is also about the convenience and safety of passengers,” the minister said. After announcing in May that basic proficiency in Marathi is compulsory, the state Government introduced a course in Marathi for the benefit of non-Marathi drivers. It had also set a deadline of August 15 for them to learn Marathi.  Drivers were put through a 16-question test during Thursday’s checking drive.

“Mala CNG bharayche aahe. Thode thambave lagel” (I need to fill up with CNG, we’ll have to stop for a while); “majhi rickshaw/taxi sharing-chi aahe” (my auto/taxi is a shared one); and “meter chalu kele aahe” (have started the meter) were among the responses that officials expected from the drivers. A senior RTO official said the questionnaire was based on the Marathi language training imparted to taxi and autorickshaw drivers by the Konkan Sahitya Parishad, which ended on Independence Day.  According to RTO officials, the questions deal with situations that drivers encounter in their daily work. They include asking passengers where they want to go, understanding directions, and communicating about fares, meters, routes and taxi or autorickshaw stands.

“If after one month they are still unable to answer the questions satisfactorily, their badge will be suspended for three months. They will again be given a month to learn the language. This action will continue,” said an RTO inspector conducting the checking at Dadar in central Mumbai.