The earlier one-month deadline for Maharashtra's auto and taxi drivers to learn functional Marathi before being fined led to widespread protests that severely impacted commuters, especially in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The earlier one-month deadline for Maharashtra's auto and taxi drivers to learn functional Marathi before being fined led to widespread protests that severely impacted commuters, especially in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The earlier one-month deadline for Maharashtra's auto and taxi drivers to learn functional Marathi before being fined led to widespread protests that severely impacted commuters, especially in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday announced that autorickshaw and taxi drivers would be given one year to learn functional Marathi.

The CM said that no action will be taken against drivers during this period for not knowing the state's official language properly, he told reporters.

This comes days after the Transport Department, headed by Shiv Sena minister Pratap Sarnaik, carried out a checking drive and issued notices to drivers who failed a Marathi test.

A one-month deadline had also been set before the drivers would be fined for not knowing Marathi for daily use, with Sarnaik warning action against RTO officials fining autorickshaw and taxi drivers for this before the end of the deadline.

This led to widespread protests by auto and taxi drivers in the state that severely impacted commuters, especially in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

Apart from ride refusals and street protests, rumours also spread about drivers being fined ₹5,000-₹20,000 for not having working knowledge of Marathi, which escalated the issue.

CM Fadnavis later stepped in to assure them that the government push for drivers to have a "working knowledge" of Marathi was not to make them linguists, but to ensure they could communicate in the local language for work.

Notably, representatives of auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers' organisations, led by Haji Arfat Shaikh, already support the move.

However, they pointed out that though the drivers were willing to learn functional Marathi, they belonged to different age groups—with many having left formal education years ago—which made it tough for them to learn it again.

"They requested that they be given one year's time. The state government has accepted their demand and is giving them one year. No action will be taken during this period," he said, adding that during this time, Marathi classes will be organised and study material will be provided to help them.

"They have themselves come forward and are willing to learn. Therefore, it was necessary to give them time," the CM pointed out.

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